Reprisal
by BouncyMouse
Summary: The Shinra are being targeted by an unknown group and it's up to the Turks to stop them. But as Reno begins a dangerous relationship events take a sinister twist. Someone wants revenge, and they'll stop at nothing to get what they want.
1. And so it Begins

Reprisal

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters (unfortunately). I wish I did, I'd have a lot of fun with them. I do own a copy of the game and the movie, so Square Enix are getting their moneys worth.

_Author note: I'm constantly tweaking bits of this story; so don't be surprised if little bits seem different. It's taking a while to establish, I'm hoping once the action starts it will flow a little easier._

Chapter One

"This is becoming an unacceptable risk."

Reno fought the urge to search through his pockets for a distraction as he watched Tseng and Rufus talking. He didn't really know why he'd been dragged into the meeting. Usually it was Elena's job, to sit next to Tseng looking alert, hanging off their every word.

Elena was a good tool in a meeting with Rufus. Bad news seemed so much sweeter coming from her. It must be the cute blonde hair, he mused. Or the fact she had a cleavage.

It wasn't that he minded sitting in the boss's office, as long as nobody spoke to him. The air-conditioning was state-of-the-art, and the room was so cold he was almost shivering. It was great. The air-con in his tiny office hummed like a wasp stuck in a jam-jar _and_ it didn't even work.

He watched with no particular interest, and knew he should have made an effort. He looked a sorry state sitting next to Tseng, immaculately dressed, whilst his own shirt was half-buttoned and his shoes were scuffed beyond repair.

Rufus didn't seem to care though. If he did he kept it concealed. He just sat there, staring with a grim look on his face, the sun playing a halo in his blonde hair. His fingers were laced in front of him, and he was tensing them idly.

Reno could hear the bones cracking.

"I think it's time we acted."

Tseng shook his head, "There's still a lot we don't know. They're getting help from somewhere."

"Avalanche?"

Reno snorted and Tseng shot him a warning glare, "I don't think so. This is no eco-war."

"Doesn't smell like Avalanche anyway," said Reno, ignoring Tseng, "They always used to slap their name on stuff. These people want to stay nameless."

"But that works to our advantage. We already know more than they think we do."

Rufus stared at them, his one visible eye frowning. The other was hidden away behind a neatly tied white bandage, still horrifically scarred after weapon's attack on Midgar. Reno suspected that it was only there for show, but he'd never say it aloud. Not with the other grey eye glaring at him menacingly. _Birds love battle scars._

"But what do we know?"

"These bastards are connected to a whole lot more than we think. And they don't like you."

"This is the work of a group with a vendetta against the Shinra," Tseng added, scratching his chin with an elegantly manicured fingernail, "We think they are connected to more than just the North Corel protests."

"This still sounds like Avalanche."

"We've been watching them, I don't believe they have anything to do with it."

Reno stared at Tseng and raised an eyebrow. _Watching them?_

Rufus placed his palms on the desk and stared down at them, deep in thought.

"I want you to question them. I'm not dismissing Avalanche on a whim," he stood up, "And I want troops sent in to North Corel. I want that protest crushed!"

Tseng rose, and Reno followed suit, albeit his action was slower, and he yawned widely before standing to attention, "Yes sir."

As they left the room they heard Rufus barking into his intercom. Once his feathers were ruffled there was hell to pay.

Reno jogged to keep up with Tseng as he headed for the elevator. He caught a glimpse of Rufus's harassed secretary shaking her head as she spoke softly into the intercom, and he momentarily considered offering her a drink. Reno wasn't a man to miss an opportunity.

First of all he had a question for Tseng.

"We've been watching them?"

"Yes."

"How, exactly?"

"Well…" Tseng faltered, finger on the elevator button, "You go to Lockhart's bar don't you?"

"Sometimes…" Reno narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling he was about to be backed into a corner.

"And I presume you watch Ms Lockhart on your visits."

"Who wouldn't?" dawning realisation struck him, "Wait…you lied to Rufus Shinra!"

"I didn't lie Reno, I twisted the truth. You'll thank me when you get paid."

Reno shook his head and sauntered into the elevator, "You lied."

"And you could at least try to make yourself look respectable."

"If you wanted respectable Elena would be here."

Tseng gritted his teeth and Reno grinned triumphantly. _Too easy._

The elevator doors purred closed.


	2. As Normal as it Gets

Reprisal

Chapter Two

Tseng was right, of course. He _had_ been visiting Lockhart's bar.

Reno wandered idly up the street. He was a little annoyed. He thought he'd played it pretty cool.

Obviously he hadn't.

"I bet Elena told him," he muttered under his breath, dragging his feet. His shoes made a grating noise on the concrete that put his teeth on edge.

When he arrived outside the familiarly understated building the door was closed. He pushed it carefully to test if it was locked. It wasn't.

The tiny bar was empty. The lights above the counter were still on, but the rest of the room was dark. The stools were all up on the tables, and a mop was leaning against the far wall, casting strange shadows around the room.

It looked as though she'd decided to close early, and he toyed with the idea of leaving. He glanced at his watch. It was only five to eleven, so technically she had to serve him.

"Tifa?"

There was no response. He wandered over to the counter and noticed that the cellar door was open. There was light at the bottom of the stairs.

He decided to check it out.

"Tifa?" he called again.

"Down here."

Reno jogged down the steps, almost tripping up over his feet in the process. They were worn and uneven, and the shadows played havoc on his depth perception.

Tifa was trying to lift a crate of unopened bottles onto one of the higher shelves. She was teetering precariously on her tiptoes, the crate balanced above her head.

He stared at her for a moment. She was definitely struggling; he could hear her grunting impatiently. He darted over and lifted the box out of her hands, shoving it into the space on the shelf. It was surprisingly heavy, although he was careful not to show it.

She turned around and bumped straight into him, her head colliding with his chest.

"Hey," he said cheerfully, aiming his words at the top of the brunette's head.

She stepped back and blushed, "Thanks."

"Crates giving you trouble?"

"No more than usual," she sighed and smiled wearily, "Are you a paying customer?"

"I could be," he winked and she shook her head.

He followed her up the cellar stairs and into the empty room, taking his usual seat at the table in the corner. He could see her frowning at him from her position behind the lamp-lit bar. Her lips were pouting slightly, and her eyes were screwed up as she squinted at him through the gloom.

"You could sit over here you know."

"I like it here," he grinned and placed his EMR on the table, "I can see everything."

She chose to ignore him, flicking a switch on the wall that flooded the room with light. Reno winced and closed his eyes. The strange shadows disappeared. When he opened his eyes he found his vision obscured by prickly white dots that chased her around the room as he stared at her, blinking hard.

"What would you like?"

He shrugged, and emptied his jacket pocket on the table. There was an ID card with decidedly bent corners, a tattered packet of cigarettes, a lighter and a small handful of coins. He counted them out slowly, pulling each of them across the table and into his outstretched palm with a long, calloused finger.

Tifa watched him with her arms folded across her chest, leaning against the wall. She had a feeling she knew what was coming next.

"What will… just under three gil get me?"

He held the handful of coins out to her, smiling lopsidedly.

She tried to glare, but was too amused by his lame attempt at gaining her sympathy. With a bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other she joined him at the table, relieving his hand of it's pathetic offering.

"You owe me," she pointed out, unscrewing the bottle and pouring the amber liquid into the glasses.

"No ice?"

"That's another three gil," she smiled wryly.

"So that's where you make your money," he drained his glass and shuddered, "What the hell is this?"

"I'm not sure," Tifa sipped her own drink and studied the bottle; "Yuffie brought it back from Wutai."

Reno helped himself to another glass. The situation was more familiar to him than he cared to admit. He sipped it slowly this time, rolling the liquid around his mouth with his eyes shut. He wrinkled his nose as he swallowed.

She laughed quietly, and when he opened his eyes she was looking at him with playful smile on her face.

"It's not bad, actually."

"For three gil," she smirked, pouring herself another glass.

"For three gil," he conceded.

She was still staring at the back of the bottle as she sipped at her drink, and he watched her thoughtfully. Her eyes looked tired, but the drink had given her cheeks a pink flush, and she was idly pressing her tongue against the rim of the glass. She took another sip, and he watched her throat contract as she swallowed it.

She looked up and raised her eyebrows.

There was a split second of awkwardness before Reno spoke.

"Notice anything strange lately?"

"Apart from red-headed Turks wandering in at closing time?"

He mock-glared. There was a definite pattern between Tifa's willingness to flirt with him- that's what he called it- and her blood-alcohol level. Ever the optimist he topped up her glass.

"Anything that Rufus Shinra would be interested in?"

"And I thought you were here to keep me company."

"Of course," he ran his fingers through his hair and winked, "But I have to pretend I'm working."

He pretended he was working a lot, he mused, leaning back and stretching his legs out under the table. His foot nudged her leg, but she didn't move. She was biting her lip thoughtfully.

Finally she replied.

"There was a man in last week, asking about Elena. But that's not unusual."

"Elena?" Reno grinned, "What did he look like?"

Tifa shrugged, "Same as any other guy."

"Good-looking?"

"Maybe," she screwed the top back on the bottle, "You'd have to ask Elena."

"Oh, I will."

Tifa emptied her glass and stared at it, moving it around under the lights so it made patterns on the tabletop.

"Have you heard anything about North Corel?"

She looked up, surprised, "Barrett wrote to me this morning. He's been there for a week or so."

"We've been having some trouble over there. Rufus is sending the troops in… You might want to warn him."

"Thanks," Tifa smiled, and her eyes twinkled, "I'll call him tomorrow."

"No problem," Reno stared at the table. _Tseng won't be happy._

"Anyway," she reached over and tugged his glass from his hand, "That's all that three gil will get you."

"Damn," he smirked, trying vainly to keep his hold on the glass, and she laughed.

She busied herself putting the bottle away, "Goodnight, Reno."

She barely even looked up from what she was doing, until she heard him unlatch the door. Then she turned around and smiled.

It was strange. Her eyes looked black under the bright lights, and though her lips were smiling she seemed sad.

"Yeah," he paused with his hand on the door, and stared at her, confused by her odd expression.

There was a moment of silence, and neither of them moved.

"It'll cost you more than three gil next time."

Her lips twitched into a smirk, and the uncomfortable moment passed.

Reno grinned and waved, "Night."


	3. Hello Stranger

Reprisal

Chapter Three

He pushed the door open slowly, knowing exactly how to avoid the telltale creak as it swung on its hinges. It didn't make a noise, but he doubted she would have woken anyway when he saw her sleeping.

Tifa was curled up in a ball, with the covers drawn up around her face. All he could see was the top of her head with her dark brown hair splayed on the pillow, and the gentle rise and fall of her body as she snored softly. The bed and its inhabitant glowed white, illuminated by the sunlight that streamed through the window.

"Tifa?"

She stirred slightly, and he took a step closer. The floor creaked loudly and he cursed himself as she rolled onto her back and stretched, yawning.

The brown eyes opened wide with surprise as she registered him.

"Cloud!"

She sprang out of the bed before he could object, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he reciprocated the gesture awkwardly, briefly squeezing her waist before taking a step backwards. Her arms dropped to her sides.

She looked so happy to see him that he couldn't help but smile back, despite the nerves that were twisting around in his gut. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling they caused. It was as though the Midgar Zolom was trying to break out of his stomach.

They stood there, smiling at each other until he let his gaze wander and realised what she was wearing. As his eyes took in the tiny white nightdress she blushed and pushed him out of the way so she could grab a robe to cover herself up.

He watched her tug it over her shoulders. She shook her hair free and faced him, still smiling.

"I didn't know you were coming back so soon!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "It was last minute."

"That doesn't matter! I'm just glad you're here."

She looked as though she wanted to hug him again and he panicked, instead choosing to stare at the polished wooden floor. It was new.

"Do you still have my room?"

"Of course," she reached out and touched his arm affectionately, "I'll get it made up for you."

"Thanks."

"What did you come back for?"

The question seemed blunt, but Tifa was staring at him expectantly. She looked so hopeful and happy; it terrified him.

"To see the kids. To see you."

"Well they'll be happy to see you."

Cloud nodded and tried to smile back at her. It was an effort to pull his lips into shape. He knew it was pointless. She'd always been able to see right through him.

"Don't worry, I know you're not back for…us," she spoke awkwardly, and her smile was replaced by a wry expression that he recognised but couldn't place in his mind, "I'm just glad you're back, ok?"

He nodded, and she hugged him again. This time he wrapped his arms around her tightly, and she pressed her lips against his cheek. It was a friendly gesture, he knew. It put him at ease.

They broke apart, and she smiled again, warmly, "Would you like some breakfast?"

"That would be nice."

"Come on then."

She led him downstairs, although he already knew where they were going.

The small kitchen was bright and sunny, decorated by a large vase filled with flowers at the window. There were pictures pinned with magnets to the fridge that the kids had scrawled for her, and a shopping list. A letter in Barrett's scrawny handwriting was pinned next to it, much creased as though it had been read more than once.

She didn't waste time, collecting various implements and ingredients and lighting the hob with a lighter she found next to the oven.

Tifa replaced the object without noticing anything amiss. Cloud picked it up and scrutinised it. It was a refillable one, expensive looking, made from mythril and totally smooth save an intricate pattern engraved along one edge. It felt comfortably heavy in his hand.

It wasn't the type of lighter that Tifa would own.

"Whose is this?"

Tifa looked up from cooking and stared blankly at the lighter, "It was left in the bar."

"Who by?" he demanded.

"I don't know," she mumbled, staring into the mixing bowl and blushing.

"You don't know?"

She looked at him sheepishly.

"Oh wait…it might be Reno's," her eyes retreated into the mixing bowl when Cloud scowled, "He comes into the bar sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Every so often. Sometimes he helps out. Normally it's just asking if I've seen anything or if I know anything…"

Cloud slammed the lighter onto the table harder than either of them expected, and Tifa flinched at the noise.

"Does he help out often?" Cloud's voice was bitter.

"No!" Tifa sighed, and resumed mixing, "Sometimes he comes in when I'm cleaning up and he helps me. It's nice to have a little help."

Cloud didn't reply. He stared at the floor sullenly, arms folded across his chest.

Tifa stared at him. His well-toned arms and shining shoulder plate looked so heroic, it was ridiculous to see him standing there in her tiny kitchen, sulking like a little boy.

"I didn't mean that I wanted you to…" she faltered, "I'd take help off any customer that offered it. He's the only one that does."

She began to spoon batter from the bowl into the frying pan, and as the pancakes sizzled away neither of them spoke. Cloud could tell she was angry, though. She didn't make a sound as she cooked, and her movements seemed far too precise to be spontaneous. It was a sign that she was carefully planning every move in her mind so that she didn't lose her temper.

It was a reaction he'd come to recognise.

It was only once she'd piled the food onto plates and set it down at the table that either of them spoke.

"I didn't mean…"

Tifa smiled that wry smile again. Cloud had a horrible feeling he'd seen it on a certain scrawny, redheaded Turk. She was spending more time with him than she was letting on.

"It's ok. They did try to kill us on a daily basis."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can look after myself. Or do you need a demonstration?"

Cloud shook his head, laughing softly; "No thanks."

They ate in a companionable silence, broken only by the jarring sound of cutlery against the plates. Cloud gulped the food down, barely pausing to breathe. He missed Tifa's cooking. It was the first good meal he'd eaten in days.

He looked up to find her staring at him, and he knew she suspected he'd not been eating.

"It's alright. You can feed me up while I'm here."

"I will," she smirked.

That was another expression alien to Tifa. Had he really been gone that long?

He watched her eating, her head bent over her plate, not entirely certain he was glad to be back.


	4. Protest Crushed

Reprisal

_Author Note: Slight change to this chapter, as I decided Yuffie's 'vice' was too OOC. Materia seems more plausible._

Chapter Four

"Barrett!"

The large man on the cot turned around at the sound of his name, an oily rag clutched in his hand. The machine gun that was grafted to his arm gleamed in comparison to his filthy appearance and he cradled it like a baby, rubbing it carefully with the cloth.

Yuffie bounded over to him and threw her arms around his neck. He growled and pushed her away.

"Watch it! Can't you see I'm cleaning the damn thing?"

She ignored the reprimand and grinned widely, "I'm glad to see you!"

"Glad somebody is."

"All they're talking about at the Gold Saucer is the Shinra."

"I'm alright damnit," he scowled, "Can't say the same for them though."

He jerked his thumb towards another tent, just visible through the open doorway. There was a sign hammered into the ground with a large red cross on it. A man with crutches and a bandaged shoulder was sitting outside, staring at them.

"Tifa called me. Warned me about them."

Yuffie nodded, her hair bobbing around her face as if it had a life of its own, "Cid thought you'd been caught up in it all."

"Yeah I would have. But Tifa told me not to didn't she."

Barrett glared at the ground sullenly and Yuffie sat crossed legged next to him on the cot. She drummed her fingers on her boots idly as he continued to lovingly clean his gun.

There was silence, broken only by the drumming sound and the squeaking of the cloth against the metal.

"Why'd Tifa tell you not to fight?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"I thought she might have said something. How'd she know about the troops anyway?"

Barrett glared, and Yuffie flinched, closing her mouth.

"She's living in Midgar aint she. It's probably all over the streets, big shit like that."

Yuffie wasn't convinced by his words and she could tell he wasn't either. He was frowning at his weapon and gritting his teeth, His massive shoulders hunched up, the muscles rippling under his skin.

She found it hard to believe that somebody so big and angry looking could possibly heed the words of somebody as small as Tifa. She tried it all the time, and it certainly didn't work. It was like Tifa had a whistle, and Barrett was fine-tuned to its frequency.

She giggled at her own musings, fiddling with the laces of her boots.

"What?"

"Nothing," she smirked at him and he glared back.

They sat together in silence until a scraping sound at the door of the tent made them both look up.

The man from the medical tent was standing outside the door. Now that he was closer Yuffie could see that his eye was painfully swollen, and there was a yellowing cut across his cheek. He gestured inside with one of his crutches.

"Mind if I join you?"

He didn't wait for a reply, but slumped into a cot opposite them and stared at them both for a second.

"Name's Garrison."

"I'm Yuffie," Yuffie gestured to herself, bemused, "And that's Barrett."

"You aint no Shinra spy are you," Barrett asked, flexing his gun arm.

"Yeah, course I am. They beat up all their employees nowadays."

Barrett nodded, "Fair point."

"You were talking about Midgar."

"Yeah? What's it to you," Yuffie replied defensively.

"Nothin'" he shrugged, "Just beats sitting outside listening to the people scream."

He flashed her a smile. Despite the septic cuts on his face he was quite handsome, with his bright blue eyes and dark, unkempt hair. She couldn't help but smile back, and felt her cheeks flushing.

Next to her Barrett rolled his eyes.

"Not a great fan of the Shinra, if you must know," Garrison continued.

"Neither are we!" Yuffie grinned.

"Yeah well, nobody is are they?"

Barrett's voice was bitter, with a sarcastic edge to it that made Yuffie glare at him. _Be nice!_

"Not round here they're not," Garrison, replied, smirking at Barrett, "Maybe we should go find the drinking tent, carry on this talking over a beer."

Barrett looked up, interested, but Yuffie cut in, "Sorry we can't."

"We can't?"

"No."

"That's a shame," he looked from Barrett to Yuffie, at the conflicting looks on their faces, "Maybe I'll come speak to you tomorrow, if you're still around."

"We'll be here."

"Tomorrow then."

He struggled to rise to his feet, and Yuffie sprang up and offered him her arm. He took it, smiling. His hands felt rough as his fingers gripped her wrist.

"Thanks sweetheart."

She would have objected, but something shiny caught her eye. His dirty coat obscured a length of chain hanging from his belt. Set at odd intervals was round, glimmering balls that seemed to glow more resolutely as she stared at them. _Materia._

As he left the tent Barrett shook his head, "What'd you go and say no for?"

"Because we don't know him. And Tifa said not to get involved."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Yuffie didn't hear him. She was staring wistfully at the retreating Garrison, just able to make out the chain of materia swinging under his coat. He turned as if on cue and saluted her.

"Killjoy," Barrett muttered.


	5. Notepads and Thumscrews

Reprisal

_Author note: I read back through this and it just didn't seem right, so I rewrote it. It still has the 'flirty' air between Reno and Tifa, but it's less pronounced. I think the characters are more 'in character' this way. _

Chapter Five

Reno sat at his desk, lamenting the loss of the good old days.

There was a time when the order to 'question' somebody would mean hunting them down, pinning them to something, and beating the hell out of them until they told you the right answers. If you'd told him years ago, when he was trying to get recruited to the Turks, that one day he'd be sitting behind a desk in an _office _no less with a notepad he would have laughed.

It wasn't so funny now. Now that he was actually sitting behind a desk with a notepad. And the air conditioning was doing it's famous 'hum but don't work' routine, just to add to his misery.

He'd already had to take his jacket off, and now his goggles were starting to feel like they were glued to his head. This was the longest time he'd spent in his chair, and he wasn't enjoying it.

He was higher up in the food chain than Rude and Elena, but he'd managed to end up with the smallest office. Tseng had based it on the principal that Reno was never at work on time, and even when he was he spent most of his working day pestering Rude, Elena or if the mood struck him the multitudes of female secretaries and personal assistants that worked in the new Shinra building.

With seventy floors that number amounted to a fair few.

The only reason Tseng didn't have to put up with him was that if he realised Reno was loitering he'd give him work to do.

He began to fiddle with a pen, idly tapping it against the desk. It made a clanging sound, ringing out against the ultra-modern Shinra furnishings. He was getting a good rhythm going when he heard voices outside the door.

"Again, thank-you for coming. Rufus Shinra appreciates your support in this matter."

It was Elena, using her telephone voice. It made her sound like a secretary- something Reno would be sure to point out next time he was annoyed at her.

So she was roped in to the 'meet and greet' side of the proceedings. He wondered which one he'd be stuck questioning.

The door opened, and the blonde girl smiled at him dryly. The smile said 'I've been trained to use a lethal weapon and I'm stuck ushering people into _your_ office.' He found it quite amusing.

"Ms Lockhart is here to see you," she said through gritted teeth.

"Lockhart?" he was unable to hide the surprise in his voice. He'd been expecting that annoying ninja. Obviously he was in Tseng's good books today.

"Thank-you Elena," he replied, smirking at her.

She gestured for Tifa to enter, and closed the door behind her.

"So…" Reno began tapping the pen again, "What brings you here?"

"Somebody phoned and asked me to come in."

"Right," she'd missed the joke entirely.

He pointed at a chair opposite him with his pen, and kicked it out so that she could sit down. A pile of papers somewhere under the desk fell over with a rustling noise, and he cursed.

Tifa took the chair, and sat down carefully. She crossed her legs, and the white cotton of her dress slipped away to reveal a milky white thigh.

Reno stared, in what he hoped was a blatant way. He had a feeling this was going to be a long afternoon. She must have picked up on his blue-eyed gaze, because she blushed and tugged the hem back downwards resolutely.

"Know anything about North Corel?"

"No," she studied her hands, "Only what I've heard from Barrett."

He raised an eyebrow.

"He only writes to say he's doing ok, to give his love to the kids. To see how I'm doing," she paused, "He never mentioned anything about the protests. I've only heard that from people at the bar."

Reno nodded, and scribbled something down on the notepad. When Tifa peered over the desk at it she found he was just doodling idly.

"Some of them came down from North Corel as soon as the trouble started. They didn't have much to say."

"I bet they didn't," he muttered.

"Thank you… for the warning I mean," She blushed, her cheeks turning ever-so-slightly pink, "He didn't get hurt."

"No problem," Reno shrugged, "Although I wouldn't say that too loudly around here. I might get punished."

He tapped his nose conspiratorially and winked.

"I really don't know what else to ask you. I'd probably be better at this if I had some thumb-screws."

"What?"

"Joking, of course," he trailed off, "This isn't really my job."

"I never thought of you as an office man."

"What kind of man do you think of me as then?" he smirked.

The light pink flush in her cheeks darkened considerably, and she bit her lip and stared at the desk. Reno grinned to himself. _Strike one to Reno._

"I didn't mean it like that."

She looked up slowly, and found he was still staring at her, head cocked to one side. It was a boyish expression, and for a second she found herself staring into the twinkling aqua eyes.

"Had any suspicious people in the bar lately?"

"Apart from you?"

"Yes," he grinned, "Apart from me."

"No," she shook her head, "There's been a couple of fights, but that's just the usual."

"So there've been no Avalanche meetings then?"

"What?"

"Just doing my job, babe."

Tifa glared at him defensively, and Reno wished he hadn't bothered.

"I told you, Barrett's in North Corel. Cid and Yuffie are at the Gold Saucer with Shera. Vincent is next door with Rude, and no," she paused pointedly, "Walking in here with him is the first time I've seen him in months."

"What about Reeve?"

"You should know. You work with him."

Reno nodded slowly, and began doodling on the notepad again.

"What about Strife?"

"What about him?"

Tifa glanced down at the desk momentarily, and realised her mistake the minute Reno leaned forward, head resting in his hand with his eyebrows raised.

"So you have seen him."

"He came back last week."

"Really?"

Reno looked too interested.

"Did he say where he's been?"

"No."

Silence fell between them as Reno continued to scribble on the notepad. The scratching of the biro was the only sound, save the humming of the air-conditioning unit.

"Can I go now?"

Reno wrote something hurriedly on the pad and tore it out, folding it in half and thrusting it into her hand, "Call me if you need me."

"If I need you?"

"Just promise me you'll call and I'll let you leave," he winked.

"I'll call," she sighed, standing up.

"I know you will," he smirked arrogantly and leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head, "Close the door on your way out."


	6. Grand Theft Auto

Reprisal

Chapter Six

They sat in Tseng's office, an empty chair between them.

"Where's Rude?" Elena asked, tapping her foot as she spoke.

Reno shrugged, yawning. It was eight in the morning. He was probably asleep, like any other sane person would be.

He was sprawled in the chair with his feet resting against the leg of Tseng's desk, arms folded behind his head. Even Elena didn't look her usual perky self. Her eyes were heavy, and she too was slumped in her chair.

He wondered where Tseng was. He had a very neat office, and never left Reno in it unsupervised. They'd been sitting there for at least half an hour.

"Have you heard from Rude?"

"Nope."

"What about Tseng?"

"What am I? Some form of Turk tracking machine," he growled irritably, scratching his head.

"I thought they might have told you something. Seen as you're…you know…"

"Second in command?" he smirked.

"Yes," Elena rolled her eyes.

"Well no Laney, they haven't told me a damn thing. Why's this meeting so early anyway?"

"I don't know."

The door flew open behind them. Reno caught its reflection in the window before it impacted, but Elena jumped out of her skin as it smashed into the wall.

"Rude!" she scolded, turning around, "Be careful!"

He stalked across the office and threw himself down into his chair, with his arms folded and his shoulders hunched. The black sunglasses obscured his eyes from view, but his lips were pressed together so tightly they formed a pale slit across his face.

"Hey man," Reno eyed him cautiously, "Bad morning?"

Rude ignored him, glaring at the floor.

"You can tell us about it Rude."

Reno smirked. She was doing that sickly sweet voice she always used to get information out of him. He could see right through it, of course. Rude didn't have that advantage.

Rude looked up at her and shook his head, "My car..."

"What about it?" Reno drawled, bored already.

If there was one thing Rude loved more than his sunglasses, it was his car. Reno appreciated cars- he'd even owned a couple, not that they'd lasted very long- but listening to Rude go on about carburettor this and spark plugs that drove him crazy. He yawned again.

"Somebody's taken it."

"What?" Reno sat up sharply and his shoes clanked against the floor.

"Oh Rude!" Elena rubbed his arm affectionately, "I'm so sorry."

"It's a car Laney, it's not like someone's died."

Rude glared at him, "It's not just a car!"

"Tell Tseng, I'm sure he'll get you a new one."

"A new one?" his voice creaked as it broke out of its usual stoic tone, "A new one!"

"Maybe not then," Reno replied sheepishly.

"It's his car, Reno. What if you lost your goggles?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"It wouldn't bother me," he replied, a little too quickly.

Elena's expression quite clearly stated that she'd made her point. Reno rubbed his fingers through his hair, brushing his goggles just to make sure. He glared at her stubbornly.

By the time Tseng entered the office the three Turks were silent. Reno and Elena had taken to scowling at each other, and Rude was staring angrily out of the window.

"You're all on time," he stated neutrally, staring at them.

Reno shrugged, Elena frowned and Rude glared.

"It inspires me with confidence, the affection this team so obviously has towards each other."

He raised an eyebrow began to rifle through the papers on his desk.

"Did anybody learn anything from Avalanche?"

Rude shook his head.

"Nope," Reno paused a sneaked a quick glance at Elena, "They haven't seen each other for months. Although Tifa said there was a guy asking about Laney."

"Me?" Elena blushed.

Rude's frown deepened, "Tifa?"

Tseng sighed irritably and dropped the papers onto the desk. The noise was quiet, but it succeeded in dragging their attention back towards him.

"So yesterday was a pointless exercise."

"Vincent Valentine is travelling to North Corel to see Barrett. He'll tell us anything he deems interesting, but he'll only speak to Reeve," said Elena.

"Does he know anything?"

"No," she shook her head, "Only that there were protests in Corel. He heard it on the news so it's only the information we decided to tell people."

"Anything else?"

Reno stared at Tseng thoughtfully for a moment, "Strife's back."

"Back?"

"Yeah. I don't know how long for. He was delivering something, I guess."

"We should speak to him."

"You can speak to him!"

Reno thought back to the last time he'd seen Cloud. He'd ended up talking to him through a solid metal door.

"Elena will speak to him," Tseng nodded at her, "She possesses the tact which you seem to lack."

"Fine by me," Reno shrugged.

"Um…Tseng," Elena shifted forward in her seat, "Somebody's stolen Rude's car."

"Really?"

Rude nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear that. The president will replace it."

He nodded in response, lips pursed again.

"It's alright," said Reno, slapping Rude's shoulder, "We'll find the old one."


	7. Old Faces

Reprisal

Chapter Seven

"Thanks for agreeing to this."

Cloud glanced up to see a small, blonde woman smiling shyly at him. She was still in uniform, immaculately dressed, and whilst the bulge of the weapon concealed beneath her jacket was almost imperceptible once seen it was painfully obvious.

The bar was quiet and dark, with a light smell of smoke in the air. It hadn't been open for very long, and save the barman nobody paid them much attention. Cloud motioned to the seat opposite him and she took it, placing a notebook on the table in front of her.

He raised an eyebrow and she smiled, "New company policy."

He nodded in reply, and drained his half-empty glass. It had barely returned to the table before the barman was at their side.

"Can I get you another?"

"Yes. The same."

"Of course," he nodded curtly, "And for the lady?"

He looked expectantly at Elena, "I'll have a white wine, please. Add it to the Shinra tab. And his drinks too, please."

"Of course."

He disappeared, and Elena flipped the notepad open and slid a pen out of her jacket pocket.

"The Shinra tab?"

"Perks of the job," she replied.

"I didn't think drinking on the job was allowed."

"That's not company policy," she smirked, "But I won't tell if you don't."

The barman returned and placed the drinks on the table. Elena thanked him, still smirking. He'd seen the expression on Tifa's face. It was Reno's. It made him uncomfortable.

"Down to business then," she sipped her drink, "What do you know about North Corel?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie Cloud, it doesn't suit you."

The smiles were still there, but her eyes seemed harder. The jovial greeting was evidently a façade, and he could see the woman he'd fought against staring back at him across the table.

"I watch the news broadcasts. But you write them, don't you."

She shrugged, "We know you've been in contact with Barrett Wallace. We send you your phone bill, after all."

"He calls."

"And says what?"

"Nothing. Just asking where I am. Telling me how the kids are doing…" Cloud paused and swirled his glass, staring at the liquid as it sloshed around, "Telling me that Tifa's alright."

"Can't she tell you that?"

"You already know who I phone."

Elena stared at him, frowning, "We always thought you and Tifa were…well… Reno had his own ideas. Me and Rude always thought you were together."

He shrugged, "We're family. Nothing more."

"Family?"

"I guess that's hard for a Turk to understand."

She glared, "It seems harder for you to understand. I thought families keep in touch."

"That's what Barrett always says," he emptied his second glass, and motioned brusquely at the barman to bring him another, "Don't try to care Elena. It doesn't suit you."

Elena sighed and took a larger gulp of her drink, scribbling on the notepad, "So you know nothing about North Corel."

"No. Nothing."

"This seems pointless then."

"You're paying."

If Cloud was trying to be funny he wasn't showing it. His unusually bright eyes were downcast, staring at his drink and his lips were pursed together thinly. He reminded her of Rude when he was angry.

"Well…if you hear anything…" she tore a scrap of paper out of the notepad and handed it to him.

He stared at it briefly, noting the phone number, and tossed it back at her.

"Don't keep your hopes up."

"Why can't you just co-operate?"

"Why can't I co-operate?" he stared at her hard, and she tried to stare back, "You Shinra think we can work together once and everything will be ok. You're the ones that caused this! All of this! And I come home to find you in my life, in the faces of my friends, in my home!"

"In your home?" Elena frowned, confused, but decided to drop it, "We don't have to be enemies Cloud."

"And we don't have to be allies."

She sighed and stood up, pocketing the pen and the notepad, "Call us if you hear anything and we'll be neither. You don't want to get on the wrong side of us again. And you can pay for your own damn drinks."

He watched her storm out of the bar, and shook his head. The Shinra were the Shinra, what did they expect from him? He'd lost so much because of them. And every time he had to claw it all back if he wanted to keep it.

"Erm…Hello?"

The quiet voice dragged him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see another woman staring down at him. She was taller than Elena, and slimmer, with long brown hair. Even in the dim light her eyes sparkled, and he tried to draw his eyes away but couldn't.

There was something… transfixing about her. The lights seemed brighter, warmer almost, surrounding her in a shimmering halo…

"I couldn't help but noticing you were having an argument… I came to see if you're ok?"

Her voice was soft and musical, and her shy smile made him smile back. Her smile widened, and her eyes shone, and her hair fell in front of her face, and as she brushed it away his stomach flipped. She looked so familiar…

But then it was gone. She was still smiling, but he could see the differences. Her nose, her eyes… His head was spinning. How much had he had to drink?

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine," he shook his head, "What did you say your name was?"

"I'm Aeris… what's your name?"

"What?"

"I'm Aeryn. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Sorry… It's been a long day. I'm Cloud."

"Pleased to meet you Cloud," she smiled again.

His vision blurred. She looked so…

"Are you going to ask me if I'd like a drink?"

"Yeah…sure…" he snapped out of it, "Of course. Would you like a drink?"

"Please," she smiled, "Although I know somewhere nicer we could go if you'd like?"

"Sure."

"Come on then."

She pulled a red denim jacket off a nearby chair and slid it over her shoulders. The lights in the bar seemed to brighten, but seconds later the yellowing glow had disappeared. By the time she turned around the transformation was complete. Cloud stared at her and smiled.

"Are you ready to go, Cloud?"

"Sure Aeris. Lets go."


	8. The Calm

Reprisal

_Author Note: This story was always going to have a fair number of chapters, because I wanted to include as many side plots as possible (which will make sense when everything comes together) and whilst writing the new chapters I found it very hard to remember what happened where. So I've now named all of my chapters to make it easier for me to remember the timeline, and easy for all of you readers out there to navigate/ remember which chapters you've read._

_Aside from turning this into the longest author note in history (my history anyway) I'm on the search for constructive criticism, thumbs-up, anything you might think as you read this. Albeit no flames please Comments inspire me to put my ideas down on paper. The more you comment; the more chance there is I'll finish what is actually becoming (based on the ideas I have yet to write about) a mammoth story._

Chapter Eight

The sound of laughing shattered his sleep like a sledgehammer through a mirror. It jumped from nerve to nerve, vibrating in his head, making his closed eyes feel hot and fuzzy and his ears ache. He opened his eyes, and the resulting white light made him wince. He squeezed them shut again.

Groaning he rolled onto his back, ignoring the acidic feeling in the back of his throat. Had he been sick? He couldn't remember. In fact… he couldn't remember anything. His muscles were sore, aching as though he'd run for miles, and every slim wisp of memory he tried to draw on was darting around in his mind, mocking him. It was like trying to remember a dream; the more he concentrated the less he remembered.

He'd seen Elena. He knew that much. But then what?

Groaning again, loudly, in an attempt to wake himself up he forced his eyes open. His pupils screamed at him as they retracted to pinpricks, but he ignored the pain. It was only the sound of door opening that dragged him to attention.

"Cloud?"

It was Tifa, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with her hair put up messily. There was a worried look on her face.

"What time is it?"

His words felt thick in his mouth, as though it was filled with sand.

"Just gone eleven. Are you ok?"

"Yeah… the kids woke me…what are they doing?"

"It's sunny," she smiled brightly, "They're playing outside. In the flowers…"

Her smile faded into a frown again as she stared at him, "Cloud, where did you go last night? You didn't come home, I was worried."

He shrugged, squinting as he tried to remember, "Elena wanted to talk to me. I had a couple of drinks. Then I…"

"You don't remember do you?"

Her voice had that familiar tone. It was a mixture of worry and accusation, hinting that she _could_ be very angry about the situation if she _really_ wanted to, but she was worried and sympathetic and she cared. Tifa always had that sort of voice or expression. It made her into the better person. It made you feel worse about what you'd done, because she wasn't angry, just disappointed.

He was silent for a moment, staring at a spot above her head. Then his eyes locked onto hers, "I don't remember a thing."

"Oh Cloud," she sighed, and walked towards him, seating herself next to him on the bed, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know," he managed a small smile, "I didn't… I wasn't sick on anything was I?"

"No," her wry smile broke into a quiet laugh, "Thankfully. Why do you ask?"

"I feel pretty bad this morning."

Tifa placed a hand gently against his forehead, and he closed his eyes at her cooling touch. Her fingers swept slowly across his skin, pushing away the strands of hair from his eyes. He let her neaten his hair, before reaching up and halting her hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed them.

He opened his eyes to see her blushing, a tentative smile playing on her lips.

"You're burning up."

"You're freezing," he replied, sticking his tongue out childishly. The fuzziness in his head was slowly wearing off. His stomach growled and Tifa laughed.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"I think I would. But first I'd like a shower."

"Ok. I'll make you something when you come down."

"Thanks," he squeezed her hand again and they both smiled.

As Tifa left the room she heard the bed creak, and Cloud wandered over towards the wardrobe. As she walked downstairs the crashing sound of the hangers as he searched through them became quieter and quieter, until his morning ritual couldn't be heard at all. Instead it was replaced by the muffled sound of children's voices. She was still smiling as she wandered into the kitchen, the tiles warm beneath her feet.

It was such a beautiful day. She could hear Marlene and Denzel shrieking and laughing as they played. Denzel tried to make out that he was too old to play kids games anymore, but give him sunshine and he'd be busy for hours. Marlene's smile and energy were infectious, and she worshipped Denzel as though he was a hero. It reminded her of her own childhood, when she used to play with Cloud and the other Nibelheim children. Until her mother had died…

She poured herself some coffee from the cheerfully bubbling machine, and blew idly at the steam that rose from her mug. Reno's lighter was still lying beside the oven. It had been weeks since she'd last seen him. Obviously the Turks had better places to go for information, now that Cloud was back.

Tifa sipped the coffee carefully, wincing at the heat of it. She missed Reno; just a tiny little bit. He had a strange outlook on life that was almost… contagious. There was an element too of wanting to show off to him. She wanted her enemy to see her prospering, to watch her live a perfect life despite all they'd done to her. It didn't really matter that they weren't enemies anymore. Not really. Just as long as the Shinra knew they hadn't managed to break her. And they never would.

She felt empowered…safe…protected. Cloud was home, his room was lived in again and he was opening up to her. The kids were playing outside, the sun was shining, the birds circling the ruins of Midgar and they were singing as though their lives depended on it. The future was bright and warm and shiny.

The kids had stopped shouting momentarily, and she looked up to see them greeting the postman. He was new, she mused, staring at him as he smiled at the children and shook Denzel's hand.

Moments later a thick brown envelope clunked onto the mat, and as she walked towards it to pick it up she caught the postman's eye through the window. He smiled cheerfully at her, his eyes twinkling in the sunlight, despite the long, yellowing scar that sliced across his cheek.

She smiled back and he saluted her, before disappearing from view.

The envelope was surprisingly heavy and she stared at it, confused. It was totally blank, devoid of any address or clue as to the sender. It was a wonder that the postman had been able to deliver it at all…

She slid her finger underneath the seal, prising it open. The glue was thick and tacky and it got caught under her nails as she picked it off the paper. Eventually it gave, and she opened it and slid her hand into the envelope. Her fingers brushed against something cool and smooth, and she pulled it out onto the table.

They were photographs. She turned them over.

Tifa inhaled shakily, her perfect morning shattered.

Outside Marlene began to cry.


	9. Yuffie Babbles

Reprisal

_Author Note: Ooh this chapter was a hard one. Everyone knows Yuffie's thing is materia, but it sure is hard to find a way to link it into the events of the story. I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going with this, although it's a tenuous link. The end of this chapter really doesn't flow. I might re-write the last bit later if my imagination returns._

_There's a slight addition in the conversation at the end, just to tie some events together. It's only a small addition, but it is important._

Chapter Nine

Yuffie sat cross-legged on the low bunk, gripping a spoon in one hand and a small, shallow bowl in the other. The gruel was watery and a sickly yellowish colour, with small chunks of vegetables floating around in it. Together with the stale bread it made a less-than-appetising meal, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to bridge the gap between shovelling spoonfuls out of the bowl and depositing them in her mouth.

She grit her teeth and stared a piece of carrot in the eye. It didn't stand a chance with her lightning reflexes…

"Bleurgh!"

The sound was loud and disgusting, and accompanied by a shower of carrot and soup.

She looked around sheepishly, to make-sure nobody was watching, but the tent was empty and she couldn't see anyone through the doorway. She hastily knocked the bits of half-chewed food off the bed and onto the floor, and slammed the bowl down next to it.

Still fiddling with the spoon, she lay back and stared at the ceiling sadly. If she was in Edge right now, with Tifa, she'd be eating cakes and noodles and chicken and pasta and…

Her stomach growled loudly, and she poked her midriff.

"Quiet, you!"

"Something alive down there?"

She jumped and knocked the bowl of gruel over in the process, sending the contents sloshing out across the floor. The bowl itself rolled neatly in a wide arc, before coming to rest under a muddy boot.

"Garrison! You should knock!"

"I didn't want to ruin your lunch, eh? Anyway, it's hard to knock a tent."

Yuffie blushed and composed herself, crossing her legs again and fixing him with what she hoped was a withering stare. Her stomach growled again, and he laughed.

"Stop laughing at me! You have no idea how hungry I am!" she whined.

"Damsel in distress aren't you?" he was still chuckling as he crossed the space between them and dropped onto the floor in front of her. The chain of materia rolled out from under his coat as he sat down, and he grinned at her as she stared at it.

"Here," he delved into his pocket and retrieved a misshaped but still edible energy bar, "Tastes like shit but it's probably better than whatever that was."

She stared at it for a second before snatching it out of his hand.

"Oh! Thank-you so much! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!"

"No problem," he watched her bemusedly as she stuffed it into her mouth, "I'm glad to be of service."

"Do you want some Gil," she offered, her full mouth muffling her voice, "I can give you…"

"No!" he held his hand up, "I'm ok."

She nodded, and chewed before swallowing hard. Garrison sat on the floor, legs stretched out in front of him. He idly rubbed a finger across his scarred cheek, wincing.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah. A little."

"I used to have a cure materia. It was mastered and everything," she grinned proudly, "But now my friends have it."

"Your friends?"

"Yeah. Tifa Lockhart and Cloud Strife. Well… I think Cloud's probably got it now. He travels a lot, delivering things."

"Really," he nodded idly, smiling at her as she babbled on, "It'd be more use here, eh?"

"People were very sick in Edge. They had to cure everyone. The water did most of the work, but everyone else…"

"They sound like heroes."

"They are," Yuffie beamed, straightening up, "And I used to fight with them."

"Did you really?" he drawled, smirking.

"Yeah!"

"So you're a hero too then."

"Yeah… Yeah! I am."

"I'm honoured," he held out a hand jokingly, and shook hers.

She blushed and stared at the floor biting her lip. He shifted his position slightly, and the materia came into view again, shimmering in the light.

"So what materia do you have?" she asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"Well…" he looked down at the chain and scrunched his eyes in concentration, "A fire…not so valuable, an ice…level two so that's worth a bit. A mastered manipulate… that's my pride and joy…and… a bio…level two I think. At least the guy who sold it me reckoned it was."

"Wow…" Yuffie's eyes lit up and she leaned forwards, "You sound like you know a lot."

"I do…I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to materia."

"Really? Me too!"

Yuffie was leaning forwards so far she was almost falling off the bunk. Garrison chuckled, and unhooked one of the links on the belt.

"Here, you can have my bio. Use it in all your heroic adventures," he winked and smiled, holding it out to her.

"Really?"

"Sure. I'm never gonna use it."

"Wow…I mean… thanks."

"No problem."

She held the shimmering green globe in her hands, moving it around so the light shone of it. Garrison stood up slowly, and sat down next to her, flicking her chin to distract her from it. She looked up and blushed, his face inches away from hers.

"Thanks…again…" she stuttered, ignoring his breath on her cheek.

"Like I said, no problem…"

He was almost painfully close now, his breath tickling her ear. She shivered, and dropped the materia into her lap. He laughed, and pulled away.

"So, you said you have friends in Edge?"

"Yeah…a couple…"

"Whereabouts?"

"My friend Tifa runs a bar called Final Heaven. You've probably heard of it, it's really famous."

He nodded, "Ever heard of a girl called Elena?"

"Heard of her!" Yuffie scowled, "She's a Turk. I've kicked her ass before."

"Really?" he raised his eyebrows, "Maybe it's a different girl we know."

"Short, bossy… blonde hair?"

"That sounds like her," he grinned.

"Why, is she your girlfriend?"

His grin widened at the horrified look on her face, and he laughed again, "Nah, she's my cousin."

"Cousin?" Yuffie rolled the word around on her tongue, frowning.

"I was kinda hoping to get in touch with her when I leave here. Only you know how big Edge is…"

"Geez yeah, it's huge! I'm always getting lost there."

"Right… So do you know where she lives?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Well… she works at the new Shinra building, so I guess you could ask there; it's huge, you can't miss it. You can see it from anywhere in the city.

"She works for the Shinra?" his raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah. You know, Turks…part of Shinra?" Yuffie shook her head, "She must be the black sheep of your family."

"If only you knew," he winked, "Ah well. They say blood's thicker than water."

Yuffie stared at the green materia in her lap, transfixed by the emerald glow, "Yup. I heard that somewhere too."


	10. The Storm

Reprisal

_Author Note: This is where the story starts to get a little more adult. I'm not getting into the 'lemons' here but there are adult themes. If the 'M' rating wasn't enough of a warning, consider yourself warned._

_I was reading back through the whole of this story, and I'm not sure whether the timeline works or not. Cloud was a little distant when he got back in chapter…three… but it's been a while since then, and he's becoming more comfortable with the family situation._

Chapter Ten

Cloud ruffled his fingers through his wet hair as he wandered down the stairs. He still felt tired, but the shower had done a lot to clear his head, and now the only thought occupying his mind was breakfast.

His memory was still patchy, but he was pretty sure he knew what had happened last night. He'd argued with Elena, had a couple of drinks, wandered home and crawled into bed. He hadn't eaten before he'd gone out- that explained the hangover- and he'd made sure to be quiet so he didn't wake Tifa up. It all made perfect sense.

Except for the aching feeling in what felt like every muscle in his body. But a potion would cure that, combined with a warm shower, a good breakfast and a hug from the kids.

He was surprised at himself for being in such a good mood, given the hangover he'd woken up with. The sun through the window had that effect on him, once he'd woken up and stopped being the anti-social 'morning' Cloud. It reminded him of Aeris…and the sunny morning before the final fight with Sephiroth, when he'd woken up in the grass with Tifa in his arms…

He pushed the kitchen door open and stepped into the room.

Marlene was sitting on a chair, snivelling, with tears on her cheeks. Denzel stood next to her with his arms crossed. He was sulking; his back turned away from them, staring at the back door. Tifa was kneeling in front of the little girl. She was armed with plasters and potions.

"Are you alright Marlene?"

"I fell over," she whined, her voice shaking, "Denzel pushed me!"

"I did not!" Denzel replied angrily, glaring at her.

"Denzel!" Tifa snapped, "I don't want to have this conversation again!"

He couldn't see her face, but the way her shoulders were hunched told him she was angry. He'd never seen her snap at the children before…

"Tifa…" Marlene wailed, "I wanna call daddy!"

"Marlene you can't!" she replied, exasperated, "I told you, I'll try and get in touch with him as soon as possible. _Please_ stop crying."

She sniffed again, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"Hey Marlene," Cloud smiled, and held out his hand, "Come here."

She climbed off the chair carefully, and limped across the kitchen before wrapping her arms around his legs. He stroked her hair affectionately.

"We'll tell daddy all about it, but until then you've got to be brave, ok?"

"Like you Cloud?"

"Yeah," he grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Marlene," Tifa still hadn't turned to look at him, "Denzel, will you go upstairs and get cleaned up please."

"But Tifa, we haven't had breakfast yet," Denzel pointed out, staring longingly at the fridge.

"I know Denzel. I'm sorry, but if you get cleaned up I'll have breakfast ready."

"But…"

"Denzel!" she snapped, "Please, just go!"

The boy looked from Tifa to Cloud, before frowning and running over to Marlene. He prised her away and took her hand, pulling her out of the room. Cloud watched them go, before walking over to Tifa and placing his hands on her shoulders gently.

"Tifa are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Her reply was short and cold, and her voice cracked slightly, as though she was struggling to keep it under control. He squeezed her shoulders and turned her around to face him, to find her cheeks flushed and her eyes red and bloodshot.

"Have you been crying?"

"No!" she snapped, and pushed his hands away.

"Tifa?"

"It's nothing Cloud," she squeaked, and tried to compose herself, "It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing."

"It's nothing," she repeated.

He stared at her, and a tear spilled from one of the brown eyes and ran down her cheek. He cupped her hand with his palm and wiped it away with his thumb, and for a moment she let him comfort her. He edged closer, wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips again…

Then she pulled away.

"Don't."

"Why not?" he couldn't keep the confusion out of his voice.

She stared at him, glaring, as he stared back like a confused child. He was oblivious! She couldn't believe it. He couldn't just walk in there and pretend everything was ok. He couldn't…

"Why not?" her voice was barely audible, "Why not!"

"Tifa I don't know…"

She picked an enveloped up from the counter and slammed it into his chest, "I can't speak to you Cloud. Not right now."

He frowned, confused, and she stared back at him, refusing to look away. He fumbled to open the envelope, and tore the contents out, staring at them…

He gasped when he saw them. He couldn't help himself.

There were limbs everywhere, milky white, and lips pressed against lips, against skin, against… The photographs were obscene, faceless arms and legs and bodies tangled together, gleaming with sweat…

"What are these?"

"Keep…looking…"

He rifled through them. The woman had chestnut brown hair, curly and tousled. Her face was contorted in all of the pictures, though in pain or ecstasy he couldn't tell. But her lips leapt out of the picture at him, bright, deep red, biting at skin or screaming or crushed against flesh…

He flicked to the last photograph. The only one to show the face of the man the woman was entwined with. It slid from his hands, making a quiet impact as it hit the tiles.

His eyes were closed, and his face too was contorted with his efforts. But there was no mistaking the spiky blonde hair and the ring on the man's hand, standing out starkly against the breast it was clawing. An ornately carved wolf's head…

"Tifa…I swear…"

"Don't Cloud. Please don't."

"I don't…"

"Cloud!" her chest jerked violently as she sobbed, "Just don't!"


	11. I'm Supposed to be Working

Reprisal

_Author note: This is a really short chapter, in preparation for the next few chapters, which should be fairly long. I'm not keen on this one at all, so it will probably be re-written after I've sorted twelve out. Phone conversations are difficult!_

Chapter Eleven

The office felt even smaller than usual with three people in it.

Occasionally they both decide to grace him with their presence, and he'd actually be in his office when they did. This was one of those strange occasions. They'd been sitting in there doing very little for at least an hour. Elena was sitting on the edge of his desk reading a magazine, and Rude was looking out of the tiny window.

Reno stared from one to the other, debating whether to point out that they were supposed to be working. It seemed like a very 'un-Reno' thing for him to say.

"Don't," Rude said simply, without even turning around.

Reno glared. _So he is watching me in the window._

"I wasn't gonna," he replied, "It's just…you guys are cramping my style."

Elena giggled and dropped the magazine onto his desk, "You don't have a style, Reno."

Rude was grinning. It was uncanny.

"I'm not gonna let you sit in here if you're gonna mock me."

"Aww come on," she whined, swatting his arm playfully, "You don't understand how bored we are."

"Go do something then."

"You sound like my mother."

He snatched the nearest pen he could find and threw it at Elena. It missed, and bounced off the wall, coming to rest noisily somewhere under his desk. It seemed pointless to find it and try again.

Rude began to tap his foot. The sound was monotonous. Reno was about to say something when the phone rang.

He stared at it, and then looked at Elena.

"What?"

"Answer it!"

"It's _your_ phone," she pointed out, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Rude?"

"No."

"Fine!" he threw his hands up in the air melodramatically, "_I'll_ answer it."

He snatched it off the cradle, and shot Elena a withering glare.

"Hello…" he drawled lazily.

"I hope it's Tseng," Elena whispered to Rude, "If Reno's in trouble it'll be great."

Rude nodded.

"Oh…hello…" Reno replied, with a puzzled look on his face.

Elena raised an eyebrow.

"My lighter?" he frowned, "I thought I'd lost it."

He idly dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a refillable lighter, scrutinising it as he listened. He flicked the switch and it ignited with a clicking sound, before extinguishing again almost immediately. He threw it onto the desk.

"I can't now, I'm working…" he paused and his frown deepened, "You don't sound…"

"Who is it?" Elena hissed, shifting closer.

"Elena!" he hissed back, hand over the receiver.

"What?"

He shook his head and removed his hand from the mouthpiece, "I can stop by after work and pick it up… No problem… Yeah… See-ya…"

"Who was that?"

"No-one."

"Sure didn't sound like no-one!" Elena retorted angrily.

"Elena," Rude warned, staring at Reno. He was staring at the desk thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"Since when have we had secrets!"

"Since you started screwing Tseng," Reno muttered.

He slapped his hands on the desk and stood up, ignoring Elena's red face; "I'll see you guys later."

"But you just said…"

"Cover for me Rude?"

"Sure," Rude shrugged, and turned to Elena, "And we've known since it started."

Reno left the office to the sound of Elena vainly protesting that she wasn't sleeping with Tseng. He grinned wryly, there was no way a guy as cool and unemotional as Tseng could hide something like that. When your boss started whistling while he worked something _had_ to be going on.

He wandered down the corridors, hands in his pockets. Tifa had sounded strange. At least, she'd sounded different to the Tifa he usually spoke to. Not that he spoke to her a lot, not really, but she'd always seemed so…positive- positively chirpy, even. He grinned. She'd even managed to keep a bright smile on her face when she was beating ten types of crap out of him… although he figured she was just frustrated, what with Cloud being so…

Totally lost in his thoughts, he turned a corner and collided with something. He looked down, to see a small, nervous looking secretary sitting on the floor, a pile of folders lying haphazardly around her.

"Mr Reno…sir…I…" she scrambled to get up, pulling the files towards her.

Her eyes fell onto a scrap of paper near his foot, and she lunged for it, gasping.

He bent down and picked it up, and extended a hand to her. She took it and smiled, her eyes on the paper in his hand. There was something scrawled untidily on it, but he didn't give it a moments notice. Instead he handed it to her. He failed to notice the relief on her face.

"Th…thank-you…um…sir."

_Sir?_ He grinned, "No problem. Hey…have we met before?"

"N…no…sir…" her cheeks turned crimson, "This is my first day…"

"Well…better get back to work…" he smirked.

"Yes…s-sir…"

The woman tucked a tendril of chestnut hair behind her ear, and watched the Turk as he sauntered off. She tightened her fingers around the scrap of paper in her hand.

"That was close…" she murmured.


	12. Lunch, or Something Like It

Reprisal

Chapter Twelve

He parked the car haphazardly in the street outside the bar, swinging it across the road so it was near enough to the curb to let other vehicles past. The brakes squealed satisfyingly as he slammed them on, and he left the keys in the ignition when he jumped out of the car.

As far as Reno was concerned, cars were for getting from A to B in the fastest time possible without killing yourself. He wasn't particularly bothered about the small dents and scratches the vehicle had accumulated since he'd owned it. It was a silly thing to worry about, and it mortified Rude beyond belief.

Anything that provoked that good a reaction was worth it.

He wandered into the bar, noting it's emptiness. It was surprising, given that it was lunchtime. The lights were off, so the only light illuminating the room came from the windows, and the stools were still on the tables.

He frowned and backtracked, yanking the door open and peering at it. There was a hastily tacked up 'closed' sign. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.

"I felt like a little time off."

He turned to see Tifa standing by the door at the back of the bar. She was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded across her chest, staring at him. Her eyes looked dark, shadowed by the lack of light, although the blank look on her face suggested something else…

"You're lucky you can take it."

"You didn't have to come over…I just…"

"Hey!" he held his hands up, "I don't need an excuse not to work."

She smiled, ever so slightly, "I'd offer you a drink but I thought you'd be here later."

He didn't point out that they were standing in a bar, wondering whether she was trying to get rid of him, "There wasn't much going on, I don't think they'll miss me."

She nodded.

"So…" he crossed the room and pulled a stool off the bar top, "You have something of mine."

He cocked his head to one side and smirked, holding his hand out like a child asking for sweets.

She dug her fingers into her pocket and retrieved the lighter, placing it in his outstretched hand, "It's pretty."

"Thanks," he took it from her, and pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his jacket, "It was a present off the others."

She stared at him as he slid a cigarette out of the box and lit it, bringing it to his lips. It stopped there, balancing between his mouth and his fingers as he raised his eyebrows, questioning the disgusted look on her face.

"What?"

"Do you really have to?"

He looked at the cigarette, watching the smoke rise slowly into the air, and then looked back to Tifa. He could still see the defiant fighter in her face as she glared at him, despite how pale and tired she looked.

He sighed and stabbed the cigarette into an ashtray, snapping it in two.

She grimaced, staring at its lightly smoking remains, "I'm sorry. Of course you can smoke. It's silly of me to…"

"No! No," he shrugged, "I'm giving up tomorrow anyway."

"That's what they all say."

"I know," he smirked, "Maybe one day I'll manage it."

"It'll kill you, you know."

"So did you. Nearly."

She blushed, "That's true."

He nodded slowly, and an awkward silence formed between them. He began to drum his fingers on the wooden counter, sending a quiet, thudding beat into the air.

"So… Are you ok?"

"What? Yes. Of course."

He shook his head and stood up, his stool making a jarring sound as it slid across the floor, "Well there's one thing we have in common."

"What?" she looked confused.

"We're both shit at lying."

She stared at the floor sullenly, and he sauntered over to her, "Let's get some lunch."

"Now? I can't."

"You made me leave work," he simpered, trying his best to look like a wounded puppy, "You can't make me eat alone."

"But the kids…"

"They're old enough to look after themselves aren't they?"

"Well…yes…but…"

"Come on. Please?" he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her towards the door, "I promise it'll be more fun than going back upstairs and crying your eyes out."

"What?" she snatched her arm back, "I wasn't…"

"I'll pay for it."

"No. Just…go away."

"I'll pay for it _and_ I'll drive you home."

He cocked his head to one side and raised an eyebrow hopefully.

"I already told you, no!" she tried to glare at him, but her lips tweaked into a smile against her will.

He grinned back, knowing he'd won, "I'll pay for it, I'll drive you home _and_ I promise you'll have more fun than he's having."

Her smile faltered for a moment, but he caught her eye, making her laugh at his cocky expression.

She smiled defiantly, "Fine."

"Great choice babe."

"I have to tell the kids I'm going out."

"Sure thing. I'll be outside."

He stood out in the sunshine, leaning against the car. The curtains twitched upstairs, and a small face appeared at the window, staring at him with wide eyes. He grinned at the little girl and waved, and her eyes widened even more before the face disappeared. The door of the bar opened, and Tifa hurried out, locking it behind her.

"I think I scared your orphans," he commented, staring up at the window.

"Is Marlene watching?"

"She was."

"She's very interested in my social life."

"I see," he grinned and yanked the car door open.

Tifa smiled in thanks and climbed into the car. He slammed the door shut and sprinted over to the driver's side, clambering in himself and twisting the keys in the ignition. Tifa fastened her seatbelt and stared at him in disbelief as he screeched away from the bar.

"What?"

"You drive too fast."

He slowed down slightly, "Better?"

"Yes."

"Where do you want to eat then?"

"I don't mind."

He whistled idly, thinking, "I know a little place that doesn't get too busy."

"That sounds good."

Reno glanced at her. She was staring out of the window, her hands twisting agitatedly in her lap. He turned his attention back to the road, catching a glimpse of her dark eyes in the mirror. They still seemed unusually black, despite the sunlight that shone on them.

"And when we get there you can tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong."

"Tifa you have all the friends in the world and you phone me."

"So? I needed to give you your lighter."

"You gave me my lighter."

"And?"

"Now you're in my car."

"Well if you want you can drop me off here and I'll walk back to the bar," she replied sarcastically, "Nothing is wrong. I'm sick of people asking me that."

He stared at the road again, and decided to risk pressing her, "What happened to the shilly-shally dilly-dally Tifa then."

She couldn't help but smile at the dopey look on his face when he said it, no matter how stressed she felt; "She had a bad day. She'll be back tomorrow."

"How bad?"

"Extremely."

He gasped jokingly, "Wow, _that_ bad."

She turned to stare out of the window again, watching the buildings and cars as they whizzed past, "You have no idea."


	13. Childs Play

Reprisal

Chapter Thirteen

The noise was deafening, a mixture of the phone shrilly ringing and the stampede of feet as they raced down the stairs. He almost lost his footing as she tried to squeeze past him, but he yelped and pushed her back, heaving open the kitchen door and running to the ringing phone.

He grinned triumphantly as he yanked it off the cradle, and watched her scowl at him as he answered it.

"Hello?"

Denzel sat down on a chair, the phone clamped to his ear. Marlene tried to squeeze closer to him so she could hear the caller, but he pushed her away playfully. She glared at him more forcefully, and threw herself down onto the floor, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest. She sighed melodramatically.

"Hello Barrett!" he turned to the girl and grinned, "Marlene, it's your daddy."

"Lemme talk to him!" she squeaked, leaping up again and scrabbling to pull the phone out of his hands.

He sighed, "I'll just get her for you."

He handed the phone to Marlene, and she climbed onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around the girl's skinny waist so that she wouldn't fall. She wouldn't stop wriggling, swinging her legs back and forth, in excitement.

"Daddy! Are you coming home?"

She paused, and her eyes lit up.

"Denzel, daddy's coming home!"

"That's good Marlene," Denzel replied.

She carried on talking into the receiver, "We'll tell Tifa when she gets back. She'll make us our favourite for dinner!"

She frowned, and Denzel could hear Barrett questioning where Tifa was.

"She's gone out with a man. He had a black car and it made a really loud noise when they drove away, and it's much nicer than your truck daddy!"

"Hey Marlene," Denzel whispered, "Be careful what you're saying…"

Denzel couldn't be certain, but he was pretty sure the man Tifa had left with was somebody Barrett definitely wouldn't approve of. But he'd seen the man before, he'd tried to help Tifa when the reunion happened and his geo-stigma was cured. Denzel didn't really understand it, but he knew Barrett didn't like him much…

"He had red hair daddy. And he wore funny clothes. And goggles on his head."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Daddy?"

Barrett said something quickly that Denzel couldn't make out, and Marlene sighed, "Ok daddy, we'll see you later."

Marlene passed the phone to Denzel so that he could put it back on the cradle. He did, carefully, before sliding Marlene off his lap and standing up.

"I don't think you should have told your daddy that Marlene," he said quietly, frowning.

"Why not?"

"I don't think he likes that man much."

"But he's the funny man! The man who helped Tifa and Cloud!"

"I know. I don't know how grown-ups minds work."

"They're silly," Marlene replied, pouting.

"I know…hey Marlene, it's sunny outside. Let's go and play."

"Ok," she nodded, and the two children ran to the back door.

Denzel unlocked it, and they burst outside into the sunshine. Marlene had already stooped down and grabbed the ball off the grass, and she threw it at him as he closed the door. He yelped, and grabbed it, throwing it back at her.

They were soon engrossed in a game, tossing the ball back and forth and running around the yard shouting and laughing. Marlene might have been small, but she was fast, and she was soon running rings around Denzel who panted to keep up with her. They played away, oblivious to the world around them.

Unknown to the children a man stood watching them, leaning on a gleaming black car. He squinted at them through the sunlight, idly fingering a scar across his cheek as he barked into a PHS.

"Yeah, I've got the car. And I can see them."

He paused and listened.

"Yeah she's gone. We're good to go."


	14. Crash

Reprisal

_Author Note: This is a chapter I've had planned in my mind from the beginning. It marks a lot of turning points in the story, and the start of the real 'action'. This is the beginning of the end, as it were, although that won't actually come for a long while. _

Chapter Fourteen

"And then Rude walked in, and Elena was standing on the chair screaming her head off, and I was rolling around on the floor in hysterics! And then Rude started laughing, and Tseng came in to see what the noise was…"

"And all because of a spider?"

"Yeah! Man, we never let Elena live that one down."

Tifa giggled and speared some food on her fork. Reno grinned at her from his seat opposite, and stretched, placing his arms on the back of the bench. The bar was almost empty, and they were sitting in a booth in the corner, hidden from view. The barman seemed to know Reno well; he'd brought them a bottle of wine and told them it was on the house.

Reno, insisting he was driving, had only drunk half a glass. The rest he seemed intent on Tifa drinking. Every time she sipped from her glass he topped it up, smiling in what she presumed to be a charming way.

She would have protested, but the wine was good and it tasted sweet, wearing away at the gnawing feeling of despair in the pit of her stomach. She knew he was trying to get her drunk. Based what she'd witnessed of his driving skills she was pretty certain a bottle of wine inside him wouldn't have phased him in the slightest.

He was reckless and cocky and arrogant. But he was also funny in a refreshing way. And he didn't like to dwell on anything. The moment she started getting wound up by his questions he'd change the subject. She found herself grinning like an idiot.

Her stomach fluttered and she forked the food into her mouth, staring at it intently. It looked good, but she couldn't really taste it. The wine was making her head spin, and she was too distracted by the aqua eyes that were smirking at her over the table…

"Tifa?"

"Mmm?" she glanced up, torn out of her thoughts by his demanding tone. He reminded her of a child.

"How's the food?"

"I…" she looked down at it, and decided to go with the truth, "I think the wine's taken over my sense of taste."

"Ah," he smiled knowingly, "That's one step away from loss of faculties."

"And you'd know, would you?"

"Why'd you think me and Rude let Elena come out with us? I'm an expert at getting people hammered."

"So you admit you are actually trying to get me drunk then?"

"Sure. Better than having you drink on your own. That's the worst way to do it. You have no fun while you're drinking. It makes the hangover even more unbearable."

"What makes you think I'm having fun?"

"'Cause you're smiling a lot."

She blushed, and sipped from her drink automatically by way of defence. It was only as she swallowed the smooth red liquid that she realised, and slammed the glass down onto the table, cheeks flushing even more.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not."

She nodded, "Ok."

"So, this week's been pretty shit for me. How's it been for you?"

She raised an eyebrow, mimicking his quizzical expression, "I'm not going to tell you what happened with Cloud. It doesn't matter how much you make me drink."

"I'm not making you drink," he smirked, topping up her glass, "And who said it had anything to do with Cloud?"

"Come on Reno, you'd already worked that out."

He shrugged amicably, and took a small sip from his own drink, shuddering, "True. True. Man, I hate wine."

"Why did you let the barman give it to us?"

"It's free?" he replied, surprised by her question, "I never turn down a free drink."

"And don't I know it," she replied, smiling.

They both carried on eating, and a silence formed between them. But this time it wasn't awkward. Reno sneaked a glimpse at her whilst she was eating, to see her smirking away to herself, staring down at her food.

He shook his head and kicked her under the table.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied.

She giggled.

"So… where do you want to go after this?"

"Not back to your place, if that's what you're thinking."

He mock glared at her. _Damnit._

"It hadn't crossed my mind, actually. I just thought you might want to stay away from the bar for a little longer…"

"I would like that, actually. But I have to get back to the kids."

"Oh…yeah…"

"But it's nice of you to offer."

He smiled at her oddly, making her stomach flutter again. But as soon as the expression formed on his lips it had gone, replaced with his trademark smirk.

"Hey, I'm not a nice person. I'm a Turk."

"I'll bear that in mind."

He grinned back at her, watching the lights twinkle in her eyes as smiled back. They seemed lighter somehow, as if the lights had been switched on in them. Her face seemed rosier too…although, he mused, that was probably the wine.

His PHS began to vibrate in his pocket, and he retrieved it, flipping it open.

"Reno," he barked formally, still nudging Tifa's foot under the table.

"Oh. Hey man, Tseng isn't looking for me is he?"

He mouthed 'Rude' at Tifa, and began to push his food around his plate idly.

"Hey that's great! You won't need it replacing now!"

He paused, and frowned, "What do you mean? Written off? How?"

Reno's face fell more as Rude continued, "Ok man, I'll be there as soon as I can."

As he hung up Tifa's PHS began to ring. She answered it, unsettled by Reno's serious expression.

"Hello…Yes, this is Miss Lockhart speaking. How can I…"

As Tifa listened her face fell, and her fork plummeted from her fingers with a loud clattering sound. It sent food skittering across the table, but Reno ignored it. Instead he stared at Tifa. The twinkle had disappeared from her eyes.

"When? Are they all right? What can I…I…"

Her voice faltered, and she closed her eyes slowly, "Yes, I'll be there right away. Thank you for getting in contact with me…"

She snapped the PHS shut and threw it down on the table as though it would bite her.

"Tifa?" Reno stared at her, concerned.

"That was… the kids… there's been an accident."


	15. Bleeding

Reprisal

_Author Note: This chapter is a little longer than the rest. It almost had me crying to write it, although that could be because of how late it is lol. Poor Tifa, that's all I can say._

_Minor changes to this chapter, Tifa's coming across as too whiny and helpless. I think she'd argue a little, even if she were upset. _

Chapter Fifteen

It was white; too white. Eerily white, made worse by the harsh lights that pierced her eyes from overhead. There was an acidic, disinfectant smell too, combined with the sounds of doctors and nurses whispering hurried conversations, and people desperately begging to know what had happened to their loved ones.

She sat on a hard metal chair in the waiting room, knees drawn up to her chin, trying her best to ignore the world around her. The happy, wine induced feeling had worn off the minute her PHS rang, and wouldn't be back. Instead she was left with a pounding headache, an overwhelming panic and a sinking guilt.

She felt as though she was going to be sick. Shivering, she wrapped her arms tighter around herself.

Next to her Reno stood up and slid his jacket off his shoulders, before carefully draping it around her. It smelt faintly of smoke and aftershave, and was comfortingly warm and heavy…

He looked much skinnier without it on. And his red hair stood out starkly against the white of his unbuttoned shirt. It looked like…

_Like the blood on Marlene's face…_

His PHS began to vibrate again quietly, and he turned away to take the call. He'd been on it almost continuously since they'd arrived, trying to find out from Rude and Tseng what had happened when the hospital staff refused to tell them anything. He spoke for a few minutes, then hung up and turned back towards her.

"It was Rude's car…" Reno's voice sounded distant, as though he was speaking to her through a sheet of glass, "Somebody stole it a couple of weeks ago. Witnesses…witnesses said that it was empty when the paramedics arrived."

She nodded dumbly.

"The car…it was driven at speed into the garden. They didn't see it coming… We think… we think it was intentional."

"What?" she glanced up sharply, frowning, "What do you mean, intentional?"

"Somebody saw the kids playing in the yard and drove the car straight at them."

"Why would somebody…" her voice faltered, and Reno grasped her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"We think Rude's car was stolen… so that it could be used…"

He sat down next to her in the chair, stretching his legs out and sighing. It was just past eleven thirty. They'd been sitting in the hospital for eight hours, and nobody had told them anything.

"The Turks are onto this, we'll find out who did it."

"Oh, great," Tifa replied sarcastically, "Rude's car's been trashed, you'd better solve the case hadn't you. Never mind the children…"

Her voice faltered again and she stopped, trying to gulp back the sob that was forming in her throat. She didn't need this, not now. Not without Cloud by her side.

"Tifa, it's not like that," Reno spoke slowly, trying not to lose his temper, "Look, we're all tired and angry and…"

"You're tired and angry! That's my kids in there. And I wasn't there! I was out drinking…with you… and I…"

"I'm sorry for trying to do something nice for you, ok? Obviously this is _my_ fault, what with it being a Shinra car and all. Hell, I probably even planned it, didn't I?"

"Reno I…" she spoke quietly, "I didn't mean…"

"No Tifa. I know what you meant," he spat, and stood up, "I hope the kids are ok. I really do. And Tseng had Barrett brought here by helicopter, he should be here…"

"Thank-you…"

"Don't bother," he snapped, "It's what we do."

She watched him stalk away from her, and felt the lump in her throat rise again. Everything seemed like such a blur, the journey from the bar to the hospital… Reno had been so helpful… He'd taken her to the hospital, he'd sat next to her all that time, and he'd demanded to know what was going on when the doctors wouldn't tell her anything…

"Please don't go…" she whispered, as she watched him slam the door at the far end of the room.

"Tifa!"

A familiar voice sounded from the other end of the room, and she turned to see Barrett running towards her. Panic was etched across his face and he was breathing heavily, dragging his gun arm behind him in his wake. She'd never seen him look that scared in her life.

"Barrett!" she cried, standing up shakily and falling into his arms. Reno's jacket fell to the floor next to her, forgotten.

"What the hell was ya thinking!" he shouted, pushing her away, "A Turk, Tifa! A Turk!"

"Barrett…I…"

"My girl's hurt and you're out with that scum! Why'd you do it? Why!"

"Barrett," she stepped backwards, completely thrown by the blame he was directing at her, "You don't know what it's been like. Cloud…"

"Don't ya blame this on that spiky headed bastard," Barrett shouted, drawing attention from the nurses that were standing behind the reception desk, "It's always Cloud isn't it? All ya had to do was look after them Tifa!"

"Barrett…"

"Excuse me, sir," a nurse appeared at his elbow, "Would you mind lowering your voice."

"No!" he roared, "Not until you bastards tell me what the hell's going on!"

"Your daughter is fine," she soothed, not looking at Tifa, "She has a broken arm and a concussion. The blood was just from superficial cuts and scratches, that's all."

"What about Denzel?" Tifa whispered.

"He has broken ribs and a severe head trauma," the nurse stated matter-of-factly, "We believe he threw himself in front of the car to protect the little girl."

"But is he going to be ok?"

"He's stable. But he's not out of the woods yet."

"Can I see them?"

"Yes."

"No!" Barrett said quietly, "I'll deal with this."

"What? Barrett, please…"

"Go and find your Turk boyfriend, Tifa. He knows all about this, doesn't he?"

"Don't blame this on me Barrett! You weren't there, were you?"

"You should have been!"

"Why should I have been?" she demanded, "Why does everyone expect me to just…be there."

"You were out with a Turk! A damn Turk!"

"This isn't because I wasn't there, is it. It's because of who I was with!"

"Yeah, it is. Damnit Tifa I thought you had more sense!"

They stared at each other. Barrett's face was red with anger, and his muscles seemed to shake as he stood there, accusing her. She curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms.

"Tell them I was here."

"What?" he demanded.

"Tell them… tell them I wanted to see them. But…I couldn't…"

Barrett's face softened slightly, "Wait a minute Tifa…"

"No," she whispered, "I need to go."

She could feel the bile rising in her throat, bitter and sharp, and her eyes began to throb as she fought to hold back the tears. Barrett couldn't just come in there and blame her… It wasn't fair. Her nails were still digging sharply into her palms, making her knuckles ache. But she ignored the pain. She ignored the instinctive feeling of wanting to beat something senseless, and the images that flashed in her tired eyes of hunting down the shadowy driver and tearing him limb from limb.

Instead she ran.

They were alone. And hurt. And she couldn't go to them…

She hated feeling like this. She hated being weak and pathetic and dependant.

She ran blindly down corridor after corridor, barely noticing what was going on around her. People were muttering in the background, but she couldn't hear them. The blood was rushing in her head, drowning out their words. As she ran out of the building the cold night air hit her like a wall, and she stumbled.

She tried to hold back the sobs but they overpowered her, finding their way out in choking dry retches that made her chest hurt and her stomach ache. The stars above her began to blur as the tears that she'd been trying to contain spilled down her cheeks.

"I'll kill you, you bastard!" she shouted aimlessly, "If I find you, I'll kill you!"

A pair of cold hands grabbed her from behind, and she tried to lash out with her fists, but the grip was too strong. The stranger pulled her into him tightly, wrapping his arms around her. She tried to struggle but the grip tightened, and she fell into him, pressing her face into the unbuttoned white shirt.

"Come on babe…" a familiar voice whispered soothingly into her ear, breath warm on her skin, "It's gonna be alright."

"He doesn't want me to see them!" she sobbed, "It's all my fault…"

"That's shit," he lifted her chin up with a cold finger and stared down at her, frowning; "It's not your fault."

The aqua eyes above her seemed unusually bright, despite the tears that were blurring her vision. He shook his head and pulled her close again.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

She wasn't sure how she got into the car. It was as though one minute she was clinging onto him for dear life and the next she was sitting in the passenger seat, the buildings blurring past her tired eyes. She could see Reno's reflection in the mirror, glancing at her every now and then.

"Why didn't you leave?" she whispered.

"I needed my jacket didn't I?" he smiled wryly.

"Damnit! I've left it…"

"It's ok," he shook his head, "I can get another one."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"No, I'm sorry…for what I said," she glanced at him awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it."

The car purred smoothly to a stop, and she realised he'd abandoned his complacent attitude to driving, instead replacing it with a more cautious approach. The bar was dark and silent, and to the side she could see the fence, ripped up from the ground…

She gasped, staring at the remains of the garden. There was splintered wood and dirt everywhere, and there, lying in the middle of the carnage was a ball. It shone slightly in the moonlight, the only thing in the garden to pick up its glow.

"Come on," he said, opening the car door and grasping her hand, "Don't think about it."

She followed him blindly to the front door of the bar, and slid her hands into her pockets. Her keys were gone, and so was her PHS.

"My keys…I don't know…"

"It's alright," he rooted around in his trouser pocket and pulled out his tattered ID card, "I'm an expert at this."

She watched him pick the lock with the card, and heard it click into place. He swung the door open and led her inside. A small part of her mind questioned how quickly he'd been able to break into her home, but it was drowned out by the pounding ache in her ears.

"Reno I don't know how to thank you… for all of this…"

He shrugged, "It's ok. Where's your bedroom?"

"I think I can manage it… thank-you…"

He stared at her for a moment, then reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek, "Anytime babe."

She wasn't sure how it happened. One minute she was staring at him, his hand lightly grazing her cheek, the next… His arms wound around her waist tightly as he pressed his lips against hers. She felt her breath catch in her throat and her head spin…and then… she was kissing him back… clawing at his shirt and running her fingers through his hair…

She broke away and stared at him, her cheeks flushed. They were both panting. He was looking at her with that strange smile that made her stomach flutter.

"I can't…I'm not going to fall into bed with you just because I'm upset!"

"I know," he replied, trying to pull her into his arms again, "Why don't you do it because you want to…"

"Reno!" she pushed him away, "You don't understand. Everything…today especially… and you've been so good to me…"

He stared back at her, the hope filtering from his face slowly.

"Please…leave. I can't…not right now."

"Ok," he shrugged, "You're right. I shouldn't have…"

"It's not you. I just…"

He shook his head and kissed her gently on the cheek, allowing his lips to linger there, "I'll see you around. Call me if you need me."

He walked away from her purposefully, and stepped out of the door without even glancing behind him. She didn't wait to watch him go. She closed the door quickly and slid the bolts home.

The bar was dark and empty. The kids weren't in their beds.

She let herself slide down the door, her legs buckling underneath her, and wrapped her arms around her knees. Closing her eyes she leant her head against the solid wood and sighed…

Outside a car pulled away, tyres screeching.


	16. Life in a Bottle

Reprisal

Chapter Sixteen

Reno climbed the stairs to his apartment, mentally cursing himself every step of the way. He'd opted for the stairs over the lift in the vain hope that it would help to relieve his frustration, but his weary muscles complained as he climbed. To think of what he could have been doing…

It was almost too much for him to take. Obviously there was an ideal way to relieve himself waiting upstairs but he was surprised to find he wasn't in the mood for it. Not tonight. He was too tired. Tired from being up for hours, tired of sitting around a hospital for the majority of his day. Tired of the conflicting thoughts inside his mind as he thought about her, on one hand running her fingers through his hair and on the other wiping her tears from her eyes…

"Damnit!" he muttered, kicking the wall on his way up.

He could taste her on his lips, salty from her tears. He ran his tongue over them thoughtfully, and closed his eyes, wondering when he'd started thinking in clichés.

The apartment was dark when he opened the door, and he didn't bother turning the lights on. They'd only have illuminated the total lack of possessions he had anyway, and he didn't feel like being reminded of that. Not at that moment in time.

He closed the door behind him, tossing his keys onto the coffee table, glad that he'd decided to put them in his trouser pocket. The jacket was easily replaceable, although he was irritated by the loss of his last packet of cigarettes. Unable to muster the drive to go and buy some new ones from one of Edge's many late-night convenience stores, he debated lighting one of the used ends that littered the ashtray.

He thought of Tifa's disgusted look at the thought of him smoking a fresh cigarette, and that put him off trying to drain as much as he could out of an old one. Instead he grabbed a half-empty bottle from under the table and sauntered off to his bedroom.

He didn't bother undressing himself, and instead slumped onto the bed. It wasn't long before the top was off the bottle and it was pressed against his lips. The clear liquid burned as he swallowed it, and he coughed, closing his eyes. He could feel the burning spread through his limbs, until it reached the pit of his stomach and settled itself. He took another swig…and another…wincing as the alcohol went down.

"What are you doing Reno?" he muttered, opening one eye lazily to stare at the bottle in his hand.

It found its way to his lips again, and he drank as much as he could without choking. It tasted vile, and made him shudder. Part of him wanted to stop drinking and go to sleep…but the bottle seemed so close to empty. It seemed like such a shame…

He closed his eyes, trying to push away the spinning feeling in his head...

He opened them with a start, to find the bottle empty; it's contents seeping into the sheets around him. The clock read one in the morning. He'd been asleep for an hour and he hadn't even felt himself go.

"Gah…" he moaned incoherently, knocking the bottle onto the floor. It smashed noisily. It was pointless to try and retrieve it.

He rolled off the bed, falling to his knees and clinging to the sheets in an attempt to pull himself upright. The effort was too much. Instead he crawled to the bathroom on all fours, curling up next to the toilet with his head in his hands. He thought about the fag ends lying in the ashtray in the other room, and tried to stand up again.

His legs buckled underneath him, and he grabbed the toilet to steady himself, just in time to be violently sick into the bowl. He didn't try to stop it; he just retched and retched until it was all gone and his head had stopped spinning. He flushed it away and pulled himself up to the sink, bracing himself against it so that he could try and clean himself up.

The water was painfully cold, and he splashed it over his face and into his mouth, swirling it around to try and get rid of the bitter taste. He caught his pale reflection in the mirror and grimaced at the unsteady eyes staring back at him. He'd seen those eyes staring back at him too many times for him to remember…

Staring into the sink he noticed the blood for the first time. It was slowly diluting itself into the water, tinting it orange. It lifted his hand slowly and stared at the cut across his palm, only just beginning to feel the stinging pain. He thought about the broken bottle on the bedroom floor and cursed.

He liked the feeling at first. It was the feeling that slowly lulled him off to sleep. But it always came back to bite him in the ass. It always did.

"If only she could see me now," he muttered, running his hand under the tap. The cut wasn't deep, and the bleeding had stopped, but it was stinging now with a vengeance.

He knocked the toilet seat down and slumped onto it heavily, watching his bathroom slowly orient itself to his vision. It was an odd feeling, waiting for his eyes to catch up with themselves…

He unzipped his trousers idly and began to grope at himself, not entirely certain what he wanted to achieve. It was a decidedly futile gesture. The lack of sleep and alcohol rendered him unresponsive, but he tried vainly anyway.

A hammering at the door caught his attention, and he stood up slowly, remembering to tuck himself back into his trousers. There was a slight glimmer of hope that maybe…just maybe she'd changed her mind…

He grinned, and sauntered towards the door, bouncing off the doorframe on his way out. Pain rippled through his shoulder. _That's gonna bruise._

The hammering pounded through his head as he wandered to the door, and by the time he opened it his grin was replaced with a drunken sneer. He found himself face to face with Tseng.

He didn't say anything, just stared at Reno with his eyebrows raised.

"What?" he slurred, leaning against the doorway in a bid to stay upright, "It's one in the mornin' for chrissakes…"

"We need your help."

"You need my help," Reno repeated, trying to process the words.

They rolled around his head a couple of times before he fully realised what Tseng was saying.

"Come on Reno!"

It was only then, staring at him, that Reno noticed the element of blind panic in his eyes. As the crushing reality of having Tseng, terrified, and on his doorstep past midnight dawned on him the drunken stupor he'd so readily fallen into began to evaporate. He tried to straighten up, still swaying, but the lopsided grimace had faded from his face.

"Whassamatter?"

"It's Elena. She's in trouble."


	17. Burn

Reprisal

_Author Note: This chapter was really difficult to write. I'm not satisfied with it at all. The events certainly won't change, but it may be re-written at some point. _

Chapter Seventeen

The tyres screeched as Tseng swung the car around a corner and through a red light. His fingers were wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel that Reno could see the bones through the translucent skin, straining as though any minute they'd tear it from the car. He was pretty certain Tseng's reckless driving had nothing to do with the lack of traffic on the roads.

He clutched his stomach as they span around another corner, suddenly glad that he'd already been sick. He closed his eyes wearily, chewing on the inside of his lip.

"What do we know?" he mumbled.

"Somebody's watching her. From outside the house."

"You sure?"

"She seemed adamant."

"She's still home?"

"Yes," Tseng accelerated as they reached a straight section of road, "She didn't want to leave. There was more than one person…"

"Right," he replied, curling his fingers around his mag-rod. The metal was cool under his fingers.

"I told Rude to meet us there."

"Great plan."

"We're not letting these people get away from us. Not again."

"Again?" Reno shifted in his seat, eyes snapping open, "What's that supposed to mean."

"We found Elena's address and photograph in Rude's car."

"What?"

"After the crash. They were under the seat…"

"What! Why didn't anyone…"

"We had it under control."

"Obviously," Reno spat sarcastically, "Why'd you let her go home on her own?"

"She insisted…" Tseng's voice faltered slightly, and he paused to collect himself, "I…We had an argument."

"Oh…"

Silence formed between them, broken only by the whir of the engine. Tseng was staring distractedly at his hands as they gripped the wheel, ignoring the road entirely. Ahead of them the darkness was punctured with streetlights.

"All that matters is that she's safe."

"Yeah…"

Reno stared out of the window, recognising the cars and houses around them. They'd be there any minute. He drummed his fingers on his weapon, staring out into the night…

"Hey…Tseng…"

"What?"

"Isn't that…isn't that smoke?"

The turned the last corner into Elena's road and Tseng slammed the breaks on. Rude was already there, stepping out of a beat-up Shinra car, running towards Elena's house…

"Elena…"

Reno leapt from the car. The world seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Rude stopped, just short of the house, shielding his face from the heat with his arms. Reno caught up with him, his racing heart drowned out by the roar of the fire.

"What do we do?" Rude yelled, stepping backwards as an upstairs window exploded with a sickening crash, sending shards of glass raining down onto the pavement.

Reno stared at the house. Elena was in there…somewhere.

"Stay here!" he shouted.

He ran forwards and threw himself into the door. It fell open, landing him head first in the hall, dodging the burning debris. He tried to shield himself with his arms, vaguely aware of Rude shouting, but the noise inside the house was deafening. Combined with the flare of the fire that surrounded him he was rendered temporarily senseless, his only sensation the burning heat of the fire on his skin.

"Elena!" he cried out, gasping for air.

He didn't stop to think- he just ran up the stairs- ignoring the burning masonry around him. She had to be up there…nobody could survive the inferno downstairs. She _had_ to be up there…

He kicked open the door to his left to find an empty bedroom already alight. The heat surged out and he yelled, cowering backwards to try and escape it. His chest was aching...his eyes were watering…his vision was a hot orange blur, as though his eyes were melting in his head.

He forced himself through the next door.

"Elena!"

She was slumped on the floor of the tiny bathroom, a sodden towel clutched to her face. Although her clothes were burnt and her eyes were closed her chest jerked violently with the effort to breathe. She was alive…

"Elena!"

Her eyes shuddered open and stared at him, trying to focus. Each movement was sluggish, and her breaths were shallow and irregular.

"Come on!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, dragging her out into the flames. They'd spread so much more now, and the stairs were completely obscured by the thick smoke. He clutched her wrist, desperate not to lose her as she lagged behind, struggling to stand.

He tried to speak, but the heat in his lungs was unbearable. Instead he pointed at the stairs. She nodded, her eyes glassy.

Head spinning he lurched down them, arm raised to protect himself from the flames. He could feel his skin blistering from the heat. Around them the debris fell, crashing into the ground, burning them…

He didn't stop to consider whether he could get to the front door. He just ran blindly forwards, pain screeching across his body… _Just a little further…_

An arm grabbed him from nowhere and dragged him forwards, just as he fell to his knees. He tried to keep moving of his own accord but his legs wouldn't support his weight. He felt them buckle; sending him onto the floor, but the rescuer wouldn't let him rest. The concrete was rough under his hands and knees, grazing him as he was dragged along it.

"Elena…"

He fell forwards and collided with the pavement, the concrete cold under his skin, his shoulder screaming at him as he landed on it. Somebody rolled him over onto his back. He tried to gulp down the clean, fresh air, but instead found himself choking, fighting against the burning pain in his chest.

Somewhere around him he could hear voices.

He tried to move but the weight in his chest wouldn't let him. He couldn't take down enough air…

Someone was calling his name…

His body shuddered as it fought for oxygen, desperately trying to breathe. He could feel his muscles twitching with the exertion. His vision began to blur, his eyes throbbing…

Someone was touching his face, trying to make him open his mouth…pressing down on his aching chest…

He tried to cry out with pain but the words wouldn't come. They strangled in his throat and died on his lips.

And then…

Then there was nothing.


	18. Gentle Intervention

Reprisal

Chapter Eighteen

She stroked the clammy forehead gently with her index finger, pushing away the strands of hair that littered his face. He was dreaming, his eyes twitching beneath the closed eyelids. But he didn't stir at her touch. He didn't know she was there.

But he _did_ know. Her heart warmed at the prospect. He was safe and loved and she was sitting next to him, protecting him, chasing away the shadows that made him cry out in the night.

She sang quietly, pieces of broken songs her mother used to sing to her.

A shadow fell across them both, and she turned around. Barrett was standing in the doorway, smiling at her.

"Hey," she whispered, crossing the room to greet him.

"Hey…"

He reached out and squeezed her arm, and she smiled.

"How's he doin'?"

"Good…he's sleeping better now."

"No more aches and pains then, huh?"

Tifa turned and glanced at Denzel, curled up beneath the thick blankets, "Only a few, and a potion will cure those."

"He's a lucky one."

"I know…when I think what could have happened…"

"Nah," Barrett cut in, brushing her hair from her cheek, "Lucky to have you."

She blushed and he wrapped his arm around her, and squeezed her tightly. She responded by hugging him back, pressing her head against his chest. They swayed slightly, as Barrett hummed a haphazard tune with his head resting against hers.

"Hey Teef?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry, ya know?"

"I know Barrett."

"I shouldn't 'a said them things. I didn't mean 'em…"

"I know," she squeezed him tighter, "I know."

"You're everythin' to me, ya know that don't ya. Sister, ma, friend…"

"You don't have to apologise Barrett," she looked up at him and smiled, "Shilly-shally dilly-dally…"

He chucked, "An' you're a nutcase."

"I know."

"And them kids…well they love you like a mother."

"And I love them too. As though they're my own."

"They are Teef," he laughed dryly, "You're all Marlene needs."

"That's not true Barrett. You're everything she could ask for. She loves you."

"Maybe…but I should 'a been there."

"And so should I," she pulled away from him and rubbed his arm affectionately, "And we will be. We'll find the people that did this…"

"And we'll rip 'em to pieces," he finished, grinning.

"Exactly."

"Teef…" he paused, staring at her, "I need to talk to ya."

"Really?" she tried to sound naïve.

"Away from the kids."

She sighed, predicting the conversation in her mind, "Ok."

She closed the bedroom door and they walked down the stairs to the kitchen in silence. Tifa crossed over to the sink and poured herself a glass of water, wondering why her hands were shaking so much. She'd had conversations like these before, back in sector seven; back in the days when looking out for her simply meant vetting her suitors and breaking up bar brawls.

Sipping slowly from the glass she turned to face him. He'd sat himself down awkwardly on one of her tiny kitchen chairs, looking about as out of place as a man his size with a gun for an arm could, in a kitchen full of flowers and children's pictures.

"So…"

"He's a Turk Teef. A Turk!"

"And so was Vincent, once upon a time. Or don't you remember?"

She felt herself becoming defensive, and sipped from the water again to calm her nerves.

"Yeah but Teef…he's _the_ Turk. The one. The bastard that…"

"Barrett!" she warned, "That was a long time ago. People change."

"Well I don't think so."

Tifa stared at him and grit her teeth, deciding to try the truth, "Reno's been coming to the bar a lot recently. And with you and Cloud gone I appreciated the help…"

"Help?"

"Lifting crates, stacking stools," she smiled, "Mindless tasks that don't mean anything to anyone except for the person that _has_ to do them every night."

"And?"

"I had…I had a rough day. And he took me out for lunch."

"And that's it?"

"Yes," she replied quickly, sipping from the glass to hide the twitch in her lips, "That's all that happened."

"Must have been a pretty lousy day…"

"It was."

"Really lousy…"

She sighed and fixed her eyes on his, "It _was._"

"Teef…" he stood up agitatedly, "What happened?"

"I…I'd rather not talk about it."

"You sure?"

She nodded silently.

"You sure?" he pressed again.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, "I…Cloud and I…"

"He came back."

"Yeah."

"And you had an argument?"

"Yeah…"

Barrett spoke slowly, trying to make sense of the conversation, "An' it was so bad you and Reno…"

"Cloud slept with another woman," she replied sharply, slamming the glass down onto the table.

The sound was loud and jarring, and it made them both wince.

"What! That spiky haired bastard!"

"Barrett…Cloud and I…we aren't together. We weren't together."

"Yeah but…"

"I was sent photographs. Of Cloud…having…_with_ this other woman," she tried to smile, forcing her lips to respond, "Which threw me a little…I guess… It never bothered me what he did or where he was, just as long as I didn't _have_ to have it thrown in my face."

"Teef…"

"And I was alone. And then there was Reno. And he made me smile…"

"You should 'a told me…"

"And Cloud hates him, so much. And it felt so good to be with him, just because Cloud hates him!"

"So you and Reno are…"

"No!" she shook her head, "No. It's not like that at all. I needed someone, and he was bored."

"You sure of that?"

She nodded dumbly, staring at the floor.

"He was there, wasn't he? At the hospital."

She paused, and nodded again.

"How'd he…"

"He took me there."

"An' he stayed until…"

"You got there. I snapped at him, he stormed out as you arrived."

"Right. And how'd you get home, after…"

"Reno," she mumbled.

"Yeah. Thought so."

Barrett walked towards her, and patted her shoulder roughly, "You be careful Teef."

"Barrett!" she tried to smirk but it died on her lips, "I'm not…"

"I mean it Teef. Be careful."


	19. Photogenic

Reprisal

Chapter Nineteen

He sat on the edge of the cot, swinging his legs out of boredom. The nurse bustled around him impatiently, poking and prodding and applying who knows what to god knows where. The creams and lotions were cold and made his skin tingle, and not in the good way.

He shivered as her icy fingers touched his bare chest again, and did his best to glare at her.

The medical exam had started off with so much promise. The nurse was tiny, blonde and _very_ well endowed, and he'd only been there for five minutes when she demanded he take his shirt off.

Only then she'd started jabbing him with her cold hands and covering him in cream (the bad kind, naturally) and ignoring every euphemistic comment, chat-up line and compliment he could think of. And, of course, it eventually turned out that her live-in boyfriend was the biggest, scariest security guard that the new Shinra HQ had. He was the sort of guy that could eat Rude _and_ that gun-armed freak for breakfast.

And that was after he'd disposed of a scrawny-assed, redheaded Turk that couldn't keep his gross sexual comments to himself. He couldn't believe she'd actually said that.

So now he was bored and his ego was deflated. And she'd done such a good job that none of his burns were going to scar. They'd just fade, disappear and gone would be the proof that he was a hero. Not only did she make sure he wasn't going to get into her pants, she had to ruin his chances with every other woman…

"Reno!"

He looked up abruptly to see Tseng standing in the doorway.

Uh-oh… 

"Hey Tseng…."

The nurse jabbed him a little too hard and he winced and glared at her. She just smiled a sickly sweet smile, and slapped some more cream on.

"I see you're being treated well."

Reno stared at his superior, glaring at the tiny hint of a smirk that played upon his lips.

"How's Elena?"

"She's doing well. As are you…from what I can see."

"Haha," Reno replied sarcastically, wincing again, "Next time you get to play hero."

Tseng stared at the skinny man in front of him, and shook his head. His already pale skin seemed to be plastered in patches of thick, greasy looking lotion. The burns and scars that weren't yet covered seemed to be healing well, but they were obviously more painful than he was making out. He'd never seen Reno jump so much when a woman was touching him.

"What?" Reno demanded, crossing his arms across his chest and shying away from the nurse when she tried to paste some more cream on.

"Thank-you."

"Anyone would have done it."

"Even so…"

Reno shrugged amicably and a silence grew between them.

"Ow!" Reno grimaced as the nurse slapped him on the shoulder.

"You're done. Put your shirt on and get out."

She held out the shirt to him and he snatched it from her hand, glaring at her petulantly. He grunted as he pulled it over his shoulders, the cotton grazing over his skin. It felt like sandpaper.

Tseng nodded a curt goodbye to the nurse and held the door open for Reno. He didn't even look back. He just made a huffing sound and stalked out of the room, still twisting the buttons of his shirt closed. Tseng made sure to close the door before he hurried after the man that was rapidly disappearing up the corridor.

"Reno! Where are you going?"

He whipped around so quickly his tangled red ponytail almost slapped him in the face, "Where am I going? Where do you think I'm going?"

"Rufus wanted to talk to us. All of us."

"Tseng…" he pleaded, closing his eyes, "Lemme go home. I swear I'll be in for whatever Rufus wants tomorrow. I just…"

"It's an order, Reno. From the top."

"I've been stuck here for days," he muttered, "He just waited until the day I could actually get out…"

"It won't take long."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Tseng overtook him at the door to the lift, punching in the buttons for the top floor. There was a muted warning noise, and he tapped his security code in.

The door slid open and the two men stepped inside.

"Should have let me get dressed properly," Reno complained, smoothing out his shirt.

"I didn't realise you wasn't dressed properly."

He glared at Tseng, and leaned back against the cool metal wall. The rhythmic whir of the lift stopped, and the doors opened.

"Wait for the others. I have to speak to Rufus first."

Reno nodded, and stepped out of the lift.

"Tifa?"

She was sitting in a chair outside the office, an envelope clutched in her hands. Tseng stared at her, eyebrows raised and then looked at Reno. Shaking his head he knocked on the door to the office and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind him.

"Why're you here?" he demanded, leaning against the wall opposite her.

"I had some information."

"For Rufus Shinra?"

"Who else would I bring it to?"

The way he looked at her clearly implied what he was thinking. _Me!_ She blushed and stared at the floor, before glancing back at him. He was smirking at her lopsidedly. He stretched idly, and winced, clutching his sides.

"What happened to you?"

"I tried to play hero," he mumbled, still rubbing his sides, "I pulled some muscles in my chest. Smoke inhalation or something…"

"Smoke?"

"Yeah, someone set fire to Elena's house."

"What?" she stood up, dropping the envelope on the floor, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his head uneasily, "Nothing to worry about."

She stepped closer, frowning, and reached out to touch a faint scar on his cheek.

The lift doors purred open, and clanged into place with an unusually loud sound. Her arm snapped back to her side and she stooped to retrieve her envelope as Rude and Elena stepped into the corridor.

Reno frowned at the woman in front of him in confusion, and then turned to the other Turks, "Tseng's in there already."

Elena nodded, staring at Tifa with a curious look on her face, "Why's she here?"

"Information," Reno stated simply.

Rude nodded, and took a seat, carefully smoothing out his trousers.

"This is going to take ages," Elena moaned, taking a seat next to Rude.

Reno remained standing, hands behind his head. Tifa stood awkwardly between them. She took a fleeting look at Reno, and noticed a light trail of red hair leading down towards his naval, exposed by the missing button at the bottom of his shirt. He caught her eye and grinned, and she hastily looked away.

Elena crossed her legs daintily and rested her head on her hand, biting her lip idly; "So what've you got?"

It took Tifa a moment to realise the question was directed at her, "Photographs."

"Photos?" Reno raised an eyebrow, smirking, "This should be interesting."

"There's a woman," Tifa continued, ignoring Reno, "I'm not sure who she is, but I think she's relevant…"

"Can I have a look?" Elena cut in.

Reno noticed how uncomfortable Tifa looked. It sparked his curiosity.

She nodded, and handed the envelope to Elena, "Just to warn you…"

"Oh my!" Elena exclaimed slowly, as she stared at the photographs, "These are…"

Her eyes widened. Rude leaned over to look, and whistled in surprise. Behind her, Tifa felt Reno edging closer.

"Lemme see!" he whined.

"Where'd you get these?" Elena asked.

Tifa could feel Reno's breath on her neck as he peered over her shoulder, trying to look at the pictures, "I…I was sent them."

"Who's the man?" she flicked to the next photo and gasped.

"Cloud…Cloud Strife…"

Rude and Elena were engrossed in the photos, and Reno leaned a tiny bit closer to her, whispering in her ear, "So _that's_ why…"

She jabbed him in the ribs softly as a warning, and heard him wince.

"I don't recognise the woman though," Elena continued, biting her lip, "She doesn't exactly look like much…"

"A prostitute?" Rude suggested.

"Cloud wouldn't do that…"

There was a slight twinge of satisfaction in her stomach as Elena and Rude dissected the naked woman, especially in the way that Elena wrinkled her nose. Neither of them seemed impressed by her, and Tifa particularly liked Rude's choice of words.

"Maybe he was drunk," Reno pushed past her to get a better look, "Manipulated, unconscious…"

"He doesn't look unconscious," Elena replied, glaring at Reno as he slouched in the chair next to her.

He snatched the photos out of her hands and turned away so neither of them would be able to see them. Elena jabbed him in the back with her index finger, and Rude sighed irritably.

"Wow…I've never seen a woman do _that_ before," he commented, grinning.

"Maybe you're not the great lady-killer you think you are then," Elena teased.

He clicked his tongue idly, and frowned, scrutinising the picture.

"What is it?" Tifa asked, staring at him hopefully.

"Cloud's got a really small…"

"Reno!" Elena squealed, jabbing him again.

"Fine," he shook his head, "I've seen this broad before."

"You have?"

"Sure," he looked surprised at the confused faces of the two Turks in front of him, "She works here."

"No she doesn't," Elena replied, "I know all the secretaries that work here. I've never seen her before in my life."

"You can't possibly know every woman that works here."

"Elena can," Rude confirmed, looking slightly in awe.

"Female solidarity," she added.

Tifa tapped her foot, staring impatiently at the bickering Turks, "So does she work here or not?"

"Yes," replied Reno.

"No," corrected Elena.

"I'm telling you, I walked straight into her in the corridor. First day or something."

"We haven't recruited anyone for months Reno."

"How'd you know that?"

Elena raised her eyebrows meaningfully and a look of dawning realisation appeared on his face.

"Oh…"

"What?" asked Tifa.

"Elena's screwing Tseng."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Elena pressed on, cheeks flushing slightly, "She doesn't work here."

"But…" Reno screwed his face up in concentration, "If she was _pretending_ to work here she could have easily gotten your address. _And_ she'd find it a lot easier to get her hands on Rude's car…"

"That's true," Rude added.

"What does that mean?"

"It means babe," Reno replied, grinning at Tifa, "We have ourselves a lead."


	20. United Once Again

Reprisal

Chapter Twenty

Tifa paused, fingers grasping the door handle, mulling over the new information in her mind.

The meeting had gone according to plan, for the most part. It had mainly been formalities, and she hadn't learned any more by showing Rufus the photographs. But what she had learned, sitting outside his office with her former enemies no less, was of great importance. Everything seemed to be connected in some sick and twisted way, and it wasn't just them anymore. The Shinra were being targeted too…

She rummaged around in her bag for her keys, which had thankfully turned up outside the bar, along with her missing PHS. The key clicked as it slid into the lock, and she was about to turn it when the door was wrenched open.

To her surprise she was greeted by the wiry bulk of a man dressed in a grimy t-shirt and jacket, and the thick smell of cigarette smoke and spirits. She looked up at him, smiling warmly.

"Cid!"

"Hey Teef," he barked happily, grasping her hand by way of welcome, "We thought you weren't comin' home."

"When did you get back?"

"'Bout an hour ago, same as everyone else."

"Everyone else?" her smile creased into a worried frown, "Who else…"

Cid stepped backwards, grinning widely. Barrett was sitting at a table, cards spread out around him waiting impatiently for Cid to return. Vincent was standing in the corner leaning back against the wall, Nanaki was sitting next to the bar and above him, cross legged on a bar stool sat Yuffie.

"Tifa!" she cried, leaping across the room and wrapping her arms around her friend, "You're home!"

"I am," Tifa replied, slightly dazed, "And so is everyone else…"

"Thought they might be able to lend a hand," Barrett explained.

"Oh…ok…"

"Come on Teef, you could look happy to see us," Cid joked, pulling Yuffie off her.

"I am," she smiled, "I'm sorry. It's just a big surprise, that's all."

"Did you learn anything?" Vincent appeared at her side, gingerly fingering the hem of his cloak.

"Yes, actually. I did," she replied, "We have a lead."

"Yeah!" shouted Yuffie, punching the air, "Let's go get him!"

"Her, Yuffie. A woman," Tifa corrected, "And we can't. We don't know enough yet. But Reno…"

"Reno?" Barrett questioned, eyeing her suspiciously, "You said you had a meeting with Shinra."

Vincent raised an eyebrow in warning to Barrett, but Cid got there first, "Come on Barrett, and let the woman speak!"

Barrett glared at them both, and turned to Tifa, "What'd he say?"

"The woman in the photographs posed as a Shinra employee…"

"What photographs? I haven't seen any photographs," Yuffie interrupted.

"Barrett?" Tifa petered out, staring at him helplessly.

"Ah…I er…aint got round to telling 'em that part yet." he scratched his head nervously.

"I already know," Vincent corrected him, "I spoke with Cloud."

"What photographs?" Yuffie whined.

"Yeah Teef," Cid added, "What photographs. What woman?"

Tifa rubbed her eyes wearily, "Shinra has the photographs for now, and the Turks are checking them against the security footage…"

"Ha!" Cid laughed, "Security, shmurity. Never kept us out."

"Cid!" Yuffie smacked him on the shoulder impatiently, "What was in the photo's Tifa?"

"More importantly how were they delivered?"

Vincent stepped in front of the girl and pushed her out of the way. Her response was to glare at him, squaring her shoulders and sticking her tongue out childishly. Cid shook his head and ruffled Yuffie's hair; taking a deep drag on a cigarette he seemed to have produced out of nowhere.

"They weren't marked. A postman brought them."

"A postman?" Cid questioned, "How in hell did he find ya' without an address."

Tifa frowned, "I don't know…I didn't really think much of it at the time."

Vincent raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly, "So we have another person to locate…"

"But what was in the photos!" Yuffie persisted.

"What'd he look like Teef?"

"I don't know," she tried to remember, "A postman… he had a scar on his face…"

"Not really distinguishing is it?" Cid drawled, idly rubbing one of his own scars.

"That's what the Turks said…wait…" her frown deepened, "He saluted me. I remember now, it seemed an odd thing for a postman to do."

Yuffie gasped, and tried to stifle the sound with her hand. She blushed as they all turned to look at her.

"Yuffie?" Cid questioned.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrow and she squirmed.

"You know what, I'm real hungry..."

"Don't change the subject Yuffie," Nanaki cut in from his position on the floor.

Tifa almost jumped out of her skin, forgetting that he was lying down there on the floor. She watched him stretch gracefully, his actions precise and cat-like, before standing up and padding quietly towards Yuffie. She began to squirm even more, twisting her fingers together.

"Look…Me and Barrett met this guy…in North Corel."

"Yeah…" Barrett stared at her, trying to concentrate, "Garrison, right?"

"Right…and…well…he had this nasty scar, right across here," she motioned across her cheek with her finger, "And he was asking all these questions, about you guys…and Elena…and he hated the Shinra…and…"

She petered out as Tifa stared at her.

"What did he look like?"

"Tall…pretty looking. Apart from the scar of course. And…well…when he said goodbye, he kinda did this…" she lifted her hand to her forehead in a salute, biting her lip nervously.

Barrett was frowning, "Why that dirty mother…"

"Barrett!" Tifa interrupted, "Yuffie, did he say anything else? Was there a woman with chestnut hair?"

"No. I don't think so," her face fell, and she bit down harder on her lip, "Tifa…this is all my fault! I shouldn't have told him all those things… But he was so nice to me…and…and…"

"It's ok," Tifa replied, half-smiling as she rubbed Yuffie's arm, "We have another lead to work on."

"When I find him I'm gonna…"

"Is he still in North Corel, d'ya think?" Cid asked.

"No," Vincent shook his head, "He'll be here with that woman. Up until know they're just playing games. I feel there is something far more dangerous on the horizon."

"I agree," Tifa nodded, "This is big, especially if the Turks can't manage to keep themselves safe either."

"So what do we do?" Nanaki asked.

"We can't do anything now," Tifa replied quietly, "I think it's best we eat, and get some sleep, and then tomorrow we'll start searching…"

"Good idea," Cid agreed, "I'm starving'."

"Me too," added Yuffie.

"That's agreed then," Tifa smiled, "Although I don't know where I'm going to put you all."

"Me and Vinnie will share the spare bed," Yuffie suggested grinning mischievously.

"I shall sleep on the floor," Vincent insisted. Tifa smiled.

"Fine! Me and Nanaki will share the spare bed, Vincent's on the floor, Barrett's on the floor in the kids room and Cid's on the couch."

"Bad back," he explained, stretching to a chorus of cracking sounds.

"That sounds good to me."

"And then Cloud can share Tifa's bed…"

"Yuffie!" Barrett barked, too late.

"Cloud?" Tifa whispered.

"Yeah…he's upstairs with the kids," Yuffie looked around the room at the ashamed faces of the others, "What? What did I say?"

"Cloud's…back?"

"Yeah Teef…" Cid grabbed her arm as she began to sway nervously, "I don't know what happened with you two, but he's acting like someone's lit a fire under his…"

"He's agitated Tifa," Vincent cut in, "He worries about you."

"He worries about me…" she whispered.

"He wants to make amends."

"Yeah well…he should 'a thought about that, shouldn't he?" Barrett snapped, glaring at Vincent, "He can't just come back here an' expect things to be ok."

"Why?" Yuffie whined, "I don't get what's going on."

"I think Tifa needs some time to think," Nanaki observed, sniffing at her hand affectionately, "I think we should let her…"

"I still don't get it," Yuffie continued, "What did he do? Is it something to do with the photos? I…"

"It's nothing," Tifa squeaked, pulling her arm away from Cid, "I…I have to make a phone call."

She ran from the room as fast as her legs could carry her, catching Barrett's worried frown as she left. She could still hear Yuffie demanding to know what was going on, and Cid cursing in between drags of his cigarette.

It was only later, when she was lying in bed, that she managed to fully process the day in her mind. Everyone was back, so everything _had_ to be ok. They were standing in the bar, bickering and joking as though not a day had gone by since meteor and Sephiroth… And Cloud… Cloud was upstairs, looking after the kids. As if by some strange fluke his absence had turned him into the father she'd always wanted him to be…

And where was she while this was all happening? She was struggling to put her thoughts in order, trying to work out the motives behind everyone's actions, worried that something bad was going to happen. If only he knew…

She sighed wearily and turned over, staring at the face of the man lying next to her. His eyes were closed, and he was snoring gently. Occasionally he inhaled deeper, stirring slightly…and she would snap her eyes shut, worried that he'd wake up to see her staring at him. She couldn't find the words to say, so she did her best to avoid the conversation.

His hand shifted under the blankets and stroked her bare stomach. Her heart skipped a beat at the unexpected action, and she shivered.

"Go to sleep or go home," he muttered.

His eyes were still closed, but his lips had tweaked into their trademark smirk.

"Sorry…" she whispered, trying to edge away.

"No problem…" he wound his hand around her waist and pulled her into him, his warm body making her skin tingle.

He pressed his lips against hers, strands of red hair tickling her nose and cheeks. Her stomach fluttered, and despite it all she smiled.

He grinned too, feeling her lips twitch against his, and kissed her again, "Now sleep."


	21. Rejected

Reprisal

_Author Note: Argh! Horrible, horrible chapter. This just refused to flow. I had the whole thing planned out in my head, and it just went horrifically wrong. I might re-write it at a later date, but right now I just want to carry on with the story._

Chapter Twenty-One

The confrontation came a week later.

She knew it was too good to be true. A week without meeting the searching, desperate blue eyes; a week of managing to be completely alone, or else so surrounded by people that intimate conversation wasn't possible. A week in which every night was spent away from normality in the arms of a man that wouldn't ask questions or make demands, but was happy to oblige in any way she wanted. He didn't ask for thanks. He didn't ask for longwinded goodbyes or explanations.

He got everything he wanted from the arrangement, and made that fact clear.

She'd always been a morning creature, loving to rise with the dawn and sip coffee in the garden with the break of day chill still in the air. But now mornings meant something else. Whilst part of her was desperate to escape the sordid bed she'd made, another part wanted to stay. It was becoming harder to drag herself away from the lanky arms that twisted around her as he slept, and far too easy to find excuses to escape to them at the end of each day.

Barrett knew, that much was obvious. Cloud suspected. She avoided both of them.

"Tifa?"

She was sitting in the kitchen when it happened, waiting for her opportunity to flee.

She turned around to see Cloud framed in the door behind her, his eyes- though still unusually bright- empty. She stared back at him, unwilling to speak. She almost wanted him to be angry. This lonely, miserable man standing in front of her didn't deserve what she was about to do, and she knew it. It made the fact that she longed to leave that much worse.

"You're going again, aren't you?" he asked sadly.

Her mouth was uncomfortably dry. She merely nodded in response.

"I guess I deserve it," he laughed, but the sound was cold and vacant.

She stared at the floor, unwilling to meet the disappointed look in his eyes.

"Is it…are you trying to get back at me?"

She could feel her cheeks burning. She shook her head, ignoring the pang of guilt in her stomach.

"If you are he deserves it."

She looked up at him, noting the steely edge his voice had adopted. His arms may have been adamantly fixed at his sides, but she could see his fists clenching. She wondered whether Reno was waiting for her, whether he cared or not if she came.

Cloud, realising she wasn't going to reply, took a step towards her, "Tifa… I don't remember anything. I've never seen that woman before. I don't know what happened."

The words were slightly rushed, as though he'd been practising the speech in his head before he confronted her.

"I'm not doing this to punish you," she whispered, staring once again at the floor, "I'm doing this because…"

"I love you."

"What?" her head jerked up, her eyes snapping onto his face, "Don't…"

"I love you," he tried again, taking another step towards her, "I want you to stay. With me."

"But…" she stood up shakily and edged away from him, "Cloud I…"

"Please. Stay?"

He looked hopeful, but there was something else behind his eyes. There was a hint of desperation, as though he was trying everything he could think of to make her stay. It was that that distracted her from his words. He didn't mean it. Of course he didn't; he just didn't want his enemy to have her, like a child with its favourite toy.

She jerked backwards unsteadily, "No Cloud. I can't."

"Why?" he demanded angrily, "It's not like he cares. You're just another conquest…"

"So what if I am," she snapped back, "At least he makes me happy."

"And I can't do that?"

"No!" she shouted, "I thought you could, once. But there's always someone else. It's never been me you're looking for, I was just there…"

"That's not true," he replied, although he just sounded petulant and sulky, "You know that's not true."

"I don't know anything anymore, Cloud."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, "Nothing."

Leaving the house was a daze. She just remembered Cloud shouting after her, and hearing Barrett's voice in the distance, telling them to be quiet because the kids were sleeping. She didn't know that Yuffie was watching her from an upstairs window, or that Cid was lying on the sofa debating whether to go after her and bring her home.

His words echoed in her head and she hurried along the pavement, drawing her arms around herself to shut out the cold. In her hurry to leave she'd forgotten a coat, and the thin material of her shirt did nothing to protect her from the chill. A light drizzle began to fall and she cursed loudly, not caring whether there was anyone to hear her.

She didn't know whether she believed him or not. She didn't know whether she cared. She just wanted to throw herself into Reno's arms and forget about the world until the morning. Surely she deserved that much?

A car crept past her slowly, illuminating the street in front of her. She caught a glimpse of a face staring out of the window curiously, no doubt wondering why a woman was out on her own that late at night, but she ignored it. It prowled along beside her for a few seconds, before picking up speed and disappearing into the night. She thought nothing of it.

It wasn't long before she was turning into the familiar street, lined with bags of rubbish and deserted cars. The drizzle had stopped, leaving her feeling cold and damp, and even gladder of her destination.

She approached the apartment building and opened the door, unsurprised that it wasn't locked. She took the stairs slowly, still mulling over the situation in her head. Halfway up she debated leaving, but thought better of it. Returning home would mean sharing a bed with Cloud or sleeping on the floor, and she wanted to avoid the interrogation she knew was coming for as long as possible.

The butterflies in her stomach as she reached his apartment proved to her that she was doing the right thing. She could already feel the long day slipping from her mind as anticipation took over. She tucked her hair behind her ears nervously and knocked the door.

It was wrenched open a minute later. A pair of aqua eyes were glaring at her from the light in the doorway, and she was hit by the smell of cigarette smoke and the soft buzz of a television in the background. She smiled in greeting, biting her lip expectantly.

"Not tonight," he stated simply, and slammed the door in her face.


	22. On His Terms

Reprisal

Chapter Twenty-Two

Stunned by his response, she knocked again.

There seemed to be no answer. The door stayed shut resolutely, daring her to knock again.

Before she could knock for a third time it swung open slowly, revealing an aqua-eyed frown so severe it twisted around her tongue and stopped her from speaking. Instead she swallowed hard, and stared up at the man standing in front of her.

If she'd ever looked at Reno in the past and thought him dishevelled, she'd been completely wrong. The red hair looked even more scruffy than usual, his shirt was creased as though it had been worn a lot longer than it was used to, and his eyes were heavily lined by deep shadows. One was more pronounced than the other, heavy and purple. The eye looked half closed, squinting painfully.

"Please," she spoke without thinking, "I don't have anywhere else to go."

He stared at her for a second, lips twitching as though they were desperate to turn her away. Instead he rolled his eyes and stepped backwards, wrenching the door further open to let her pass. She stepped inside quickly before he had chance to change his mind.

He slammed the door shut and leaned against it, rubbing his eyes wearily, "Sleep on the sofa. I take it'll you'll be gone before I'm up."

There was a sarcastic spite in his words that made her cheeks burn.

"What's wrong?" she asked feebly.

"Nothing," he gestured at the sofa, "I'm going to bed."

He couldn't have made it more obvious that she wasn't welcome, but she couldn't bear to leave. Instead she stared around the lounge, slightly self-conscious that she'd never taken the time to look at it before. There was little to catch her eye. The only things illuminated by the light of the television were an empty cigarette packet on the coffee table and a full ashtray lying next to it.

He didn't even look at her. He just stormed across the room, pausing only to retrieve a bottle from under the table.

"Reno…"

"Look," he swung around, the liquid inside the bottle sloshing against the sides, "I just want to drink myself stupid and go to sleep. The sofa is there, anything else you need you can find for yourself."

"It won't help," she murmured.

He glared at her, "No it won't. That's the point."

He turned away again, and she took a step towards him, "Reno…wait!"

"What?"

She tried to ignore the anger on his face although it was hard. The cold look in his eyes made her painfully aware that she didn't have her gloves, and the concept of fighting an armed and angry Turk without them wasn't pleasant.

"It'll make you ill," she stated simply.

"That's the point!"

She took a cautious step towards him, taken aback when he didn't step away. He just stood there looking lanky and arrogant, glaring at her through untidy strands of red hair. It felt as though he was trying to make her confront him, and she made up her mind to deny him the privilege.

"Look…" she said, reaching for the bottle, "Tell me what's wrong…"

"I don't want to talk about it for crying out loud!" he shouted, "It's not your fucking problem!"

Tifa hazarded a wry smile and yanked the bottle from his hand. Shocked by the sudden, determined movement he had no chance to defend himself, and she placed her prize on the coffee table. Empowered by the fact he no longer had a bottle to attack her with, although it _had_ been a worst-case scenario, she reached out for his now empty hand. As her fingers connected with his wrist he snatched it away, and rubbed his fingers sullenly through his hair.

"You look tired," she said softly.

"I am."

He stared at her crossly, weight on one leg as though he was subconsciously distancing himself from her. She'd seen that brooding, defeated face before. The face of a boy who knew he was doing wrong, but wasn't going to give in without a fight. The eyes may have been aqua, and the hair red, but the demeanour was the spitting image of Denzel's. She grinned inwardly.

His hand dropped to his side, and she grabbed hold of it, wrapping her fingers around his wrist tightly, "Come here…"

She ignored the fact he was still glaring at her, and led him to the sofa. He followed reluctantly, forcing her to drag him by the wrist that was clutched in her fingers.

She pushed a magazine off the seat, smirking at the naked woman on the front cover, and sat down. She yanked his wrist to gesture he do the same, and he did. Reno sat hunched, with his fingers idly fiddling with his trousers. He seemed adamant that he wasn't going to look at her.

"Lie down," she demanded.

He grimaced again but did as he was told, sprawling across the sofa. _Exactly like Denzel._ She guided his head into her lap.

"Tell me what's wrong," she insisted, stroking the hair back off his forehead.

At her first touch his body went rigid, as though preparing to leap away from her. She let her fingers slide down his neck and he shivered and relaxed, closing his eyes. He evidently thought the insides of his eyelids were safer to look at than she was. She smiled.

He eventually responded.

"Shit day."

"That's a big bottle, Reno," she mused, staring at the coffee table.

"Really shit day," he admitted.

"Tell me about it?"

At first he didn't reply, distracted by her fingers as they played gently with his hair. He hated the fact he could feel his anger dissipating, and the way his stomach squirmed at her touch. He couldn't move away though. He loved the way his scalp tingled as her nails grazed it, and the way his heart raced as she stoked his neck.

"Reno?" she prompted.

Her voice sounded soft and warm, just like her hands.

"Rufus is angry 'cause we're not getting anywhere with anything…"

She didn't reply she just kept caressing his hair.

"Tseng takes it out on us. It's worse for Elena."

She still didn't reply. He almost wanted her to, uncertain whether he was enjoying the sound of his own voice as much as he usually did. He had his own means-tested way of dealing with his problems, but he felt like her fingers had disconnected his tongue from his brain. He grit his teeth and continued.

"And then Rude found out about that I slept with you."

Her fingers seemed to jerk inadvertently, and he opened one eye to gauge her reaction. She was biting her lip nervously, eyes closed. She almost looked regretful, and it felt like lead was being poured into his stomach.

"Is that why your eye…"

"Yeah, he punched me," he couldn't find the effort to smirk, "Lucky for me Rude doesn't hold grudges. Although I wish he pulled his punches."

A warm finger shakily traced the outline of the bruise on his face, and he winced.

"Sorry."

"And I'm tired," he added, "It'd be better if you just fucked me and left. It's pretty lame getting woken up every damn morning when you disappear."

The fingers stopped stroking his hair, and he heard he inhale unsteadily.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I mean, I don't mind if it's just a revenge thing," he sat up sullenly, "But if it is, it's on my terms."

"It's not like that!" she replied hotly, "I…"

He turned around to face her, glaring again, "So I've just got to wait for you to go crawling back to Cloud?"

A sharp _crack_ broke the air as her palm connected with his cheek. He looked temporarily dazed, before rubbing the skin with his own hand slowly. They stared at each other, both looking shocked, although Tifa's eyes were quick to anger.

"Don't you dare!" she snapped.

"Damnit!" he exclaimed, still clutching his face.

She stood up, and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down onto the sofa roughly.

"Now look here," he demanded, waving a finger in front of her face, "You play nice!"

She shot him a smouldering glare.

"If looks could kill," he smirked.

Temporarily thrown by the arrogant smile on his face her glare faltered, and she merely succeeded in looking confused. It just made him smirk even more.

He shook his head and lunged at her, forcing his lips against hers. Something inside him delighted in the fact she didn't pull away, but instead kissed him back…slowly… He could feel her shaking. It seemed different somehow from the desperate, needy kisses she'd showered him with on previous nights. Eventually she pulled away, seeming dazed by his erratic mood.

"But I thought that's what you came for?" he growled cheekily, trying to lunge again.

"Reno!" she protested, "We need to talk…"

He sat back petulantly and scowled at her. He'd have looked angry, if his lips hadn't been arranged in their trademark lop-sided smirk.

A hammering sound on the door distracted them, and he seized the chance to kiss her again briefly before standing up. He cursed as he crossed the room, leaving her to stare after him, completely lost. Any trace of his earlier bitter mood seemed to have vanished, as though slapping him had snapped him out of it. She watched him swing the door open lazily, and smiled to herself.

The smile was wiped off her face as an eerie blue glow filled the room, accompanied by a cracking sound. A bolt of electricity impacted with Reno's chest, throwing him backwards across the room. He fell limp, like a rag-doll, groaning.

"Reno!"

She ran towards him and he tried to stop her. It was too late. A pair of hands grabbed at her, immobilising her arms and leaving her to kick desperately at anything she could make contact with. Her left foot found flesh, and she thrust as hard as she could. The man holding her dropped her, and she fell to her knees.

Her assailant was bent double, swearing loudly.

Reno was on his feet again, and he tried to leap in front of her but she angrily pushed him away. She raised her fists defensively, and he shook his head at her in disbelief before throwing himself at his attacker.

The man was caught off guard. The other, having steadied himself from his injuries, straightened up and charged at her.

He was huge, feeling as though he was built out of rubber rather than skin. She punched and kicked and slashed at everything she could, ducking and darting out of the way as fists and feet came towards her. Her blows seemed to spring off his hide without hurting him at all. She tried to aim for his weak points; suddenly glad he was a man. Beside her Reno followed suit, and whilst his movements were less agile than hers they delivered more force, and his opponent cried out in pain as Reno's fists connected with his face.

The man's face was obscured, but by the sound of his gurgled moaning Reno had succeeded in breaking his nose.

The two men forced them backwards from the door, neither seeming willing to give up. Tifa could hear Reno shouting something at her, and she ducked just in time as another bolt of lighting shot over her head. It hit the coffee table instead, splitting it in two. The cigarette ends in the ashtray ignited but soon burned out, leaving an acrid, smoky smell in the room.

She heard Reno yell again, but was too busy trying to steady herself to pay much attention. A fist collided with her temple, and she dropped to the floor. The room was spinning…

"Never send a man to do a woman's job," somebody sneered from the doorway.

Tears of pain streaming down her face, she looked up to see the blurry image of a woman in the doorway.

"Don't fight Tifa, or someone will get hurt."

The voice was cold and cruel, and Tifa tried to dive towards it. She could see the woman's chestnut hair, highlighted by the light in the hallway. There was a glint of silver in the air, then the abrupt sound of a gunshot.

Tifa span around confused by the lack of pain. Her eyes fell on Reno's as he stared at her, slumped against one of the attackers, mouthing soundlessly. Blood was blossoming across his shirt, and he began to twitch. The man grabbed his arms, mercilessly pulling them back so he couldn't lash out. Reno yelled in pain.

She tried to run towards him, but a pair of hands grabbed her own arms and forced them behind her. The action was so violent she felt her shoulders wrench, and she cried out. The man responded by pulling harder.

A strange yellow glow filled the air, and the room span and slowly dimmed.

She tried to struggle, but her arms and legs felt heavy. She could feel her eyelids closing against her will. Even her pain seemed to be waning. Through closing eyelids she could see Reno, blurred by her eyelashes. His head too was dropping forwards, and his knees buckled as he fell to the floor. His looked as though he could have been sleeping.

She tried to call his name, but her mouth felt dry and sticky. Her own knees gave way, and they thudded into the floor. She didn't feel it. She didn't even try to stop herself as she fell face-first onto the carpet. She was vaguely aware of pain in her shoulders, but it seemed distant, and unimportant. There was garbled conversation floating from somewhere in the distance, but she was too sleepy to care. Her face collided roughly with the floor but she didn't feel it.

Darkness was all that seemed to matter. It was the last thing she remembered.

Darkness…


	23. Lay a Finger on Her

Reprisal

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reno woke, choking on his own saliva.

Rolling over onto his front he coughed and spluttered until he could breathe again, trying to shake off the blurry feeling in his head. It was as though his brain had been temporarily disconnected, and his body was taking over. He decided to let it. If he was dumb enough to choke on his own spit whilst he was asleep he deserved it.

At least he could breathe now, that was an upside. He ignored the warm, throbbing feeling in his eyeballs and rolled back over onto his back, trying to gauge his surroundings.

He didn't have chance. Pain seared through his shoulder, and he yelled. His vision blurred again.

He closed his eyes, willing the pain to go away. There was only one thing he could think of that would leave his reactions so disjointed. Somebody had hit him with sleep materia. He dreaded to think what else would hurt, once his nerves caught up with themselves.

So far it was just his shoulder. He decided to count himself lucky.

Judging by the rumbling sounds from underneath him he was in the back of a vehicle. Probably a van, he mused, as his eyes adjusted to the dark. That was an upside; he almost knew where he was. All he had to do now was work out why he was there.

He grit his teeth as his shoulder panged again, and he screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to think. Boy was he having trouble waking himself up. That suggested some form of drunkenness prior to being hit…although…no, he didn't feel hung over. He was willing to bet it had something to do with his shoulder.

It felt as though he'd been shot.

He groaned. He _had_ been shot.

Right…gunshot wound to the shoulder. Sleep materia… Office clothes…

He remembered being at work. Rude had given him a black eye. It wasn't like Rude to shoot him though. He allowed himself a dry, empty laugh. A bullet in the shoulder had all the symptoms of Rude's bad aim. He decided not to dwell on matters. If his memory was going to desert him, he might as well make the most of the situation. Being blissfully unaware was one of his specialities.

He felt like he'd been awake for half an hour by the time the engine stopped, although he was pretty certain boredom had made the journey feel longer. He couldn't really get excited at the prospect of a gunshot wound. It evidently wasn't going to be fatal, and apart from the fact it was in his favourite arm it didn't really bother him. Eventually someone would have to do something about it. He hoped it would involve cure materia and medicinal alcohol.

The door swung open, and he closed his eyes at the bright, white light, giggling.

_Giggling?_

Someone grabbed at his foot and hauled him from the van. He hit the ground hard and groaned, trying to curl up into the foetal position. He was fairly sure the feet he was staring at were a bad omen, but he couldn't muster the adrenaline to do anything about it. In fact, the whole situation still seemed rather comical…

There was a sickening cracking noise, and pain screamed across his face. It was joined by his own voice, howling, as thick, warm blood seeped into his mouth. The boot he'd been staring at had stamped hard on his face. His nose was broken.

"That's for Ethan you bastard."

That was an angry voice. He considered.

"Is it his birthday?" he babbled through the blood.

The foot connected again, this time with his shoulder. He yelled. Obviously the time for being a cocky bastard was over.

Someone heaved him to his feet, and he leaned back against the van for support. A fist collided with his stomach, and he bent double, groaning. He spat a mouthful of crimson saliva onto the ground, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Reno straightened up slowly. There were two men in front of him, faces obscured.

Memories shot through his mind as one of the men punched him in the jaw. Tifa turning up… not wanting her to be there… being led to the sofa like a child… her fingers warm against his skin… jealousy when he thought about her and Cloud…

The fist struck again and he fell to the ground.

Shock as she slapped him… kissing her… being attacked… a gunshot…

"Where is she!" he demanded from the floor, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

The metallic taste against his tongue made him retch, and that made his nose and jaw ache. But it was nothing to match the red-hot pain in his shoulder as his senses finally caught up with him. He screamed as someone kicked his injured arm, and heard cruel laughter from above him. He tried to get up, but his left arm wouldn't support him. He managed to drag himself painfully into a crouching position.

Something hard slammed into his face and he was thrown back onto the floor. Through tears of pain he could see one of the thugs brandishing an iron bar. He bit the inside of his lip as it came down again on his shoulder, and he tasted more blood in his mouth as his teeth punctured the skin. It paled in comparison to the excruciating pain in his shoulder. The world began to swim around him.

The Turk in his head yelled at him to get up, and he somehow managed it.

"You aint had enough yet?" one of the men jeered.

"Where is she!" he shouted again, trying to throw himself into one of them.

They laughed as he stumbled and fell face-first into the ground. He tried to stop himself, but his shoulder buckled and he rolled sideways onto his injured arm. A boot kicked out at him again, but he was already in so much pain he couldn't feel it.

"Your little whore will get what's coming to her," someone laughed, "We haven't finished with you yet."

"Lay a finger on her…" he muttered, closing his eyes, "One finger… and I'll hunt you down…"

The men were still laughing, but the sound of a PHS ringing cut through the air. Reno rolled onto his knees slowly, determined to stand.

"Yeah…ok…" he heard someone bark, "Finish him off."

He didn't see it coming. The iron bar connected sharply with the back of his head.

One of the men winced at the crunching sound.

Reno didn't hear it.

They stared at the unmoving, blood soaked body in front of them. The one visible eye was half-open, obscured by his matted, bloody hair.

"Dead?" one of the men asked, nudging him roughly with his foot.

"Yeah," the other replied, "Come on, lets go."


	24. Answers

Reprisal

_Author Note: This is another chapter that worked fine in my head, and then refused to go down on paper. I might come back to it after I've finished the story. Right now I just want to ignore it and hope it goes away._

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Wakey wakey…"

Tifa's head jerked off her chest. They were in a sparsely furnished room, dimly lit by an un-covered light bulb overhead. There was a strange, damp smell in the air, as though the room was little used, and dust seemed to cover everything.

"It's so nice to finally meet you."

The voice was soft and musical, and drifted from the mouth of a petite woman with chestnut hair and ruby lips. She was sitting on another chair, one of the only other pieces of furniture in the room. Tifa stared at her determinedly.

"If looks could kill…" she laughed, "That's what he said, didn't he? That dirty Turk of yours."

Tifa swallowed hard. She wanted to scream at the woman in front of her, but she couldn't. A gag had been forced into her mouth, cutting at her already raw lips.

"We had to get rid of him, you know…" she continued, "He had it coming though, don't you think?"

She laughed again as Tifa's eyes widened, and stood up slowly, shifting her weight between her feet like a snake, writhing as she prepared to strike. She leaned over, her breasts fighting against her shirt, and yanked the gag out of Tifa's mouth.

Tifa tried to lash out, but the mythril cuffs that bound her to the chair were tight and she couldn't move. The woman carried on laughing to herself as she sat down again, re-arranging her shirt purposefully so her chest was exposed.

"Do you like them?" she asked, "Cloud loved them…"

"Don't you dare…" Tifa tried to speak but her mouth was dry and her lips stung with each word.

"Relax…I'm only playing."

"Where's Reno," Tifa whispered.

"We had to get rid of him," she repeated, "Although I let my brother have a little fun first. It's a shame really… he was such an attractive boy. Although you'd know more about that than I do."

Tifa didn't reply.

"Now Cloud on the other hand. He's a _real_ man. Not just a pretty boy in a suit."

She paused, eyeing Tifa up, "And he did enjoy himself. All that grunting and moaning…"

She stretched her hand out in front of her face, flexing her fingers so she could look at her long, red fingernails, "You don't seem very talkative. Maybe I should loosen you up…"

She waved her hand dismissively, and an icy glow enveloped Tifa, so cold it made her lungs ache. Pain rippled across her skin, as though thousands of tiny needles were pricking her body. She groaned inadvertently, shivering as the effects receded. Her skin felt as though it was on fire.

"I do love my big brother, he always was _so_ good at acquiring materia."

"Who are you?" Tifa muttered, still shaking.

"Me? I go by many names. Cloud knows me as Aeryn, not that he remembers," she crossed her legs daintily, "It worked so well, playing on the thing he wanted most in the world…"

"Aeris…" Tifa whispered.

"That's right!" Aeryn replied, grinning, "All it took was a little red jacket and bang, he thinks I'm his ill-fated lover. And boy, did he go bang…"

"Don't!"

"What's the matter, Tifa? It's not my fault you're not his thing anymore," Aeryn's voice was nonchalant, "He was so easy to manipulate. One little flick," she flicked her hand, "And he was under my spell."

She stretched lazily, "Of course then I saw you in the hospital car park with that pretty-boy Turk. Two birds with one stone… Although, I had to let you get _really_ stuck in before I took him away."

Tifa stared at the floor. She refused to believe that Reno was dead. The memories were still too fresh for him to be gone…

"And of course finding such a good-looking corpse will be the wake-up call that Rufus Shinra needs."

"What?" Tifa's head snapped back up, "What's Rufus Shinra got to do with this?"

"It's a little game," Aeryn grinned, "And so far I'm winning. All I need is Shinra."

"Why?"

"Revenge."

"What?"

"Do you have any idea what I've lost?" Aeryn stood up again, agitatedly, and stepped towards her, "My mother, my father, my grandmother…my little sister… Three generations of one family wiped out by the Shinra!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry! Don't you dare!" Aeryn screamed, "You've left me and my brother with nothing!"

Tifa stared at the livid woman in front of her, confused, "Me?"

"Yes you!" she spat, her eyes shining with tears, "You and Avalanche, and the Turks, and the Shinra! The day that plate came crashing down…"

Realisation hit Tifa like a knife to the heart. She'd always known there had been casualties when sector Seven was destroyed; she'd lost her own friends too… But the victims grieving faces had never once confronted her. There had always been a more serious problem. Sephiroth, meteor, Geostigma… And then… Then everything had begun to work out, and her guilt had lessened and lessened until it became no more than a fleeting memory or the occasional nightmare.

And here was this broken woman; a casualty of the old dream.

"I don't know how you could bear to let him touch you," Aeryn shrieked, "He murdered all of those people! Because of you!"

"I didn't…"

"I bet you enjoyed it too. I bet you loved the fact he had blood on his hands…"

Tifa's mind flitted back painfully… Falling asleep in Reno's arms, hearing his heart beat as he slept… Guilt over feeling so peaceful each night when at home tempers were fraying… It was so easy to forget he'd pushed the button. He hid it so well behind his smirk and his twinkling eyes. It was as though his whole demeanour cushioned the blow of his actions, until they were just things another, eviler person did. Maybe she _had_ been too willing to forgive him. Far too willing to forget the past, just because he made her feel…

"I bet that's why Cloud couldn't bear to be around you! You could have stopped this all from happening! You could have defused the bomb! You could have killed that arrogant bastard instead of letting him go! It was three-on-one and you let him go…"

The back of Aeryn's hand connected painfully with Tifa's face.

"But now you're going to know what it feels like…" she grinned maliciously, "You, and all your friends…"

"You've hurt us enough, nothing will bring them back…"

"Oh I know," she replied, "But I can have my revenge."

"They won't come. They'll know it's a trap!"

Aeryn sighed, and tucked her hair behind her ear, "That's where you're wrong. They're going to go to Rufus Shinra and they're going to make sure I get what I want."

"Rufus Shinra would never…"

"But he will," she corrected her, "Because they'll all force him to. And they'll follow him here like lambs to the slaughter…"

"How do you know that?" Tifa whispered.

"Because they all want to make me pay for what I've done to them. They'll take any chance they have of finding me."

Tifa stared at the ground, crushed, knowing the words were true. Barrett would rip her to pieces for what she'd done to his daughter; so would Tseng after what happened to Elena and Reno. And Cloud… Cloud would lay his life down for her in a heartbeat, and they'd all do the same…

"So you see, I _will_ have my reprisal. They'll flock here looking for you, looking for answers, looking for my blood…"

"And then?"

"Boom!" she screeched.

"What do you mean…"

Aeryn grinned triumphantly, and pointed at an object in the corner of the room. Tifa could barely make it out; it was so shadowed by the dust and the dim light. There seemed to be wires twisting around it crudely, almost like a crooked halo…

"A bomb?" Tifa whispered.

"Yes," Aeryn replied, "One of Shinra's finest. Ironic, don't you think?"


	25. Department of Administrative Research

Reprisal

Chapter Twenty-Five

Barrett thrust the door open, ignoring the shooting pain in his wrist and the protests of the harassed secretary at the front desk.

"Sir!" she called vainly, "Sir! You can't go up there!"

"Actually, I believe we can," Vincent pointed out, as Cloud too forced his way through.

"I'll…I'll call security!" she squawked, reaching towards a phone on the desk.

Vincent shook his head and pointed his gun languidly at the machine. There was a shattering crack, and the secretary snatched her hand away as though she'd been burned. The phone she had reached for had a neat hole ripped into the casing, and there was an acrid, burnt plastic smell in the air.

"You can tell Rufus Shinra that he is now expecting us," Vincent replied coolly, and followed the other men into the heart of the Shinra building.

He caught up with them on the stairwell. Cloud was staring at a shining metal chart on the wall, running one finger down the list of departments and floor numbers whilst his other hand gripped the heavy sword he had balanced on his shoulder. Barrett was staring at the stairwell, rubbing his gun-arm in anticipation.

"Which floor?" Vincent asked.

"Well… the top will be Rufus." Cloud leaned over to get a better look, "And the Department of Administrative Research is floor…fifty four…"

"Department of Administrative Research?" Barrett repeated, "Fifty four… Looks like we got a whole load of climbing to do…"

"Looks like we have," Cloud replied.

He grinned at them and sprinted up the first flight of stairs. As his footsteps receded, Vincent shook his head and followed suit. Barrett joined them, dodging the trailing ends of the tattered red cloak and taking one last look at the door to the lobby. So far nobody had decided to follow them.

Vincent could hear Barrett's mumbled curses behind him as he thundered up the stairs, punctuated by his heavy breathing. He smiled wryly, what Barrett gained in size and determination he lacked in stamina and agility.

They eventually reached floor fifty-four, without meeting any resistance along the way. The three men silently found it disconcerting, but nobody voiced their concerns. Instead Cloud fiddled impatiently with his clothing whilst Vincent studied the key-card lock, and Barrett slumped against the wall, face red and panting.

The lock was simple. It required nothing more than a key-card with the number 'fifty-four' written on it. Vincent eyed it carefully, running a finger across the small grey box, and listening carefully… Barrett rolled his eyes. Vincent stepped back, raised his smart silver pistol, and neatly shot the lock. It creaked and fell off the door, clattering to the floor.

"Hey," Barrett protested, "You want something shootin' you come to me!"

"I required something more precise," Vincent replied. His lips twitched slightly.

They set off up the deserted corridor, footsteps ringing out on the dull grey floor. There was still an unsettling lack of employees on the level, although Cloud tried to ignore it. He instead stared at a harsh, neon light as they passed underneath it and felt his eyes begin to water.

An office door was open ahead of them, and he gestured towards it. The silver plate on the door simply read 'DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESEARCH 1'.

He leant around the door slowly, but the office was empty. It was a lot smaller than he'd been expecting, with a single window and desk. The desk was cluttered beyond belief, piled high with folders and stacks of paper. A phone was just about visible under an open file and there were more piles of paper on the floor. On the window ledge there was a sickly looking pot-plant with a couple of small white flowers, alongside a yo-yo and a packet of cigarettes.

Somewhere, above them, an air conditioning unit hummed.

"Empty," he whispered, retreating from the doorway.

Vincent raised a hand, straining his senses. Soft footsteps were approaching from the corridor ahead of them. By the time Cloud and Barrett could hear them all three men had their weapons raised. Cloud gripped his sword tightly, whilst two guns glinted alongside him. Barrett alone was a formidable sight, his broad form almost filling the corridor. Combined with Cloud and Vincent, they had the advantage.

The footsteps grew louder and louder. They were determinedly slow.

"Ready?" Cloud whispered.

"As I'll ever be," Barrett replied. Vincent merely nodded.

Elena turned the corner, her high-heels clattering with each reluctant step she took. Her blonde hair was dishevelled, and her hands were pressed into her eyes, her fingers balled into fists. Below her wrists Cloud could just make out her red cheeks, and her chest seemed to be heaving beneath the creased black suit.

She wasn't looking where she was going, and she hadn't noticed the three men poised to attack.

"Where is he?" Cloud demanded.

Elena jumped, her hands dropping to her sides. Her eyes were red and swollen.

"What are you doing here?" she asked faintly, staring at them.

"Where is he?" Cloud repeated, a little thrown by her reaction.

"Look…you can't be here…" she continued, "You just…can't."

"We wanna talk to your scrawny-assed friend," Barrett demanded, flexing his gun arm. The muscles bulged menacingly.

"You can't."

"What do you mean we can't?" he flexed his arm again, reinforcing the message, "We're armed…"

"Yes, yes, and I'm not," she snapped, "I'm sure we've all noticed that."

"Cloud," Vincent spoke softly, "I think we should…"

"Son of a bitch!" someone shouted in the distance.

Elena clapped her hand towards her mouth and turned back, as though torn between the shouting behind her and the men in front. Cloud was almost certain he heard a strangled sob escape her lips before she stifled it with her hand.

Meanwhile the noise was getting louder.

"Get of me you bastard!"

Tseng ran round the corner. He looked strangely small, devoid of his trademark black jacket. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, his tie was missing, and his hair looked oddly untidy.

"Elena…"

He stared at the three men in front of her. Behind him the shouting was increasing.

"I'm not going back there! You don't get it! Don't touch me!"

"This is a bad time," he said weakly, flinching at every crash and curse that hurtled up the corridor behind him.

"Fuck off you bastard! I'm warning you…"

There was a muffled yell.

"No…wait…get off…get the hell away from me!"

Rude fell backwards into the corridor, his face ashen.

"Elena…" Cloud ventured.

She ignored him, and instead turned to Tseng, "I thought he was sedated!"

"He was," Tseng replied feebly, withering under Elena's fierce glare, "He's still adamant that he's leaving."

A man ran into the corridor behind Rude, partially obscured by Elena. He was wearing ill-fitting white clothes that could have been pyjamas. Beside Cloud, Barrett laughed, although his face remained deadly serious.

Rude shouted again, and tried to grab at the man, who slid underneath him. Whether the action was intentional or accidental Cloud wasn't sure, but whoever he was he seemed to be having a lot of trouble getting back onto his feet. Both Tseng and Rude looked immensely relieved.

Elena turned around as Rude advanced, "Be careful…oh Rude, don't hurt him…"

It seemed a pointless warning. The man on the floor had managed to kick Rude in the jaw, sending the enormous man flying backwards into the wall. Cloud thought he saw a glimmer of red, before Rude made another grab at an arm that seemed determined to take his teeth out.

"Stay back!" Tseng shouted as Elena took a step towards them, and turned back to the struggling figure, "Now this is absurd! If you don't stop I'll shoot you!"

Elena began to openly sob, tears rolling down her cheeks with every strained breath. The man on the floor stopped lashing out.

"You wouldn't…" came the muffled reply.

"Try me," Tseng replied, eyeing Rude, who was tentatively rubbing his jaw, one hand tightly fixed around a skinny white arm.

"Fine…"

Tseng nodded to Rude, who reached down and grabbed the man's arms, hauling him onto his feet. Elena wiped her face and ran towards them.

"Do you think we should just…leave?" Barrett whispered.

Cloud stared at them, unable to see the face of the restrained man. Elena was fussing over him in the same way Tifa fussed over the children, trying to soothe him and tidy up his dishevelled clothes. The situation was too surreal…

"Tseng," he called, gripping his sword, "We want to talk to Reno."

There was a yell, this time sounding morbidly joyful, and the man began to struggle again. Rude, arms now wrapped tightly around his torso, lifted him clean off the floor as his legs began to kick out. His face was strained with the effort of keeping his grip. Elena leapt out of the way as a foot lashed out at her, accompanied by more frenzied curses.

Vincent frowned, "Is that?"

Cloud stared the scruffy head in confusion, watching the long red ponytail swing as the man struggled to escape Rude's grip.

"Reno?"

"Cloud…" his head jerked upwards, "They've got Tifa."

He stared at Reno, unable to reply. He was almost unrecognisable. The left side of his face seemed to be completely bruised, and there were cuts around his bloodshot eyes. His lip on that side was also swollen, with a septic, red wound slicing through the lip and down his chin. One of his arms was bandaged tightly, and more cuts and bruises protruded under the bandage. The cut on his chin had begun to bleed again.

"Damnit, didn't you hear me? They've got her, I couldn't stop them!"

"What do you mean, they've got her?" Barrett demanded, the colour draining from his face.

"Do I have to spell it out for you people," he shouted hoarsely, still struggling, "They've got Tifa. They tried to kill me, damnit, just think what they could be…"

"Reno!" Elena cried, "Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Tseng put his arm around Elena, who was growing more distressed the angrier Reno became. He stopped struggling and stared at her, with an almost ashamed look on his face. Rude gingerly released him, and they all watched as Reno swayed precariously, before leaning on his partner for support.

"Tell us what happened," Vincent demanded sharply.

Reno shuddered, and wiped the blood from his chin, "She came to see me and then…two men attacked us… and they shot me… and when I woke up…"

Tseng raised his hand to halt Reno, who was beginning to sway again, "Tifa and Reno were taken from his apartment, and both knocked out by Sleep materia. When Reno woke he was alone, and two men beat him senseless and left him for dead in the middle of the road. When we found him…"

"We thought he was dead," Elena whispered, "He was covered in blood and…"

"Tifa wasn't with him," Rude cut in.

"Why was Tifa at your apartment?" Vincent asked coldly.

"She needed somewhere to sleep," Reno replied, staring fixedly at Cloud through his swollen eyes.

"Where is she?" Barrett demanded.

"I don't know…"

"Nobody seems to know," Tseng added, "We've got people working on this…"

"That's not good enough!" Cloud shouted, "When did this happen!"

"Day before yesterday," Reno grunted, "You only just missed her?"

Tseng glared at Reno in warning, and turned back to Cloud, "We're doing everything we can."

"We don't think she's dead," Elena whispered, "If she was we'd know for sure…"

"They'd use it to their advantage if she was."

Cloud glared at the four Turks in front of him, and turned back to his companions, "We have to talk to Rufus Shinra."

They nodded.

"And so do I," Reno added, taking a shaky step towards them.

Tseng grabbed his arm, "No, Reno."

"Don't try to stop me," he warned.

Cloud stared at the bloody, desperate looking man in front of him and lowered his sword.

"Let him come."


	26. Revelation

Reprisal

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tseng had to hand it to Rufus; he had class.

He sat behind his highly polished desk, sunlight framing him from the window behind, hair shining, eyes calm and clear, slowly rolling a fine silver fountain pen between his fingers.

Shinra made them all look bad. It was a special gift of his.

Tseng was tired. His eyes were heavy and shadowed, and his clothes were creased from sleeping in them. He'd spent the night comforting Elena as she sat at the patient's bedside stroking his unresponsive hand and trying to stem her tears. But of course, Rufus Shinra knew that.

He didn't mention how under dressed Tseng was when he entered the office. Neither did he mention the irate, beat-up Turk that followed him, or the sword-wielding blonde that brought up the rear. He merely raised an eyebrow, as if to say even obedient men such as Tseng were allowed their off days, and continued to fiddle with the fountain pen.

Tseng longed to wipe the dry smile of Rufus's face. He had great respect for the man; he'd even go as far as calling him a friend. But he knew, the minute he saw Rufus's calm exterior that he was holding out on them.

Unfortunately for Rufus, Reno realised it too.

He'd lunged across the desk before either man could stop him, his fingers clenching Rufus's lapels tightly, pulling him upwards in his seat so that his eyes bulged as he gasped for air. He shook him hard, despite the obvious exertion, and tightened his grip.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Rufus choked.

"Liar!" Reno shouted, shaking him again, "Where is she!"

"Reno!" Tseng grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him off the desk, "This won't solve anything."

"Won't it?" Cloud asked dryly.

Rufus neatened his suit haughtily, glaring at Reno.

Tseng released Reno, noticing the pallor in his face, and the way he staggered slightly, shifting his weight between his feet. He pulled out a chair, and carefully manoeuvred the redhead into it.

"Rufus, this has gone far enough," he said quietly.

Rufus stared at him coldly, ignoring the two other men that were glaring at him, "When I want your opinion…"

"I'll give it to you," Tseng answered sharply.

"This is insubordination, Tseng," the blonde man smiled.

Tseng shrugged, "I almost lost the woman I love. I won't put Reno through that."

Beside them Cloud stepped forward, staring aghast at Reno. Tseng noted how unwilling his seemed to meet Cloud's eye, instead choosing to stare at his calloused fingers as he flexed them uneasily.

"A commendable sentiment I'm sure…"

Tseng slammed his fist onto the table, making Reno jump, "Elena would have died! Burned alive if it wasn't for this man. Two children…_Children!_" he repeated furiously, "Nearly lost their lives. How many people will it take before you realise what you have done!"

"Tseng, this is unwise in the present company…"

"No, Rufus. No! I won't sit back and let this happen!"

"What do you mean…" Cloud interrupted.

"You knew…" Reno whispered, his face white, "You knew all along…"

Rufus stared at the desk, idly toying with a sheet of paper, "I had suspicions."

"They were more than suspicions. You had threats!"

"Nothing I haven't had before I assure you," Rufus replied as Reno jumped to his feet.

"Tseng!" he shouted, swaying again, "What the hell is going on?"

Tseng blinked slowly, "A woman contacted me six months ago. She lost her family when Sector Seven collapsed. She wanted something…anything off the Shinra. Although I don't think she would have stopped at anything short of having her family back."

"She was deranged," Rufus stated calmly, "I had her terminated."

"No Rufus, you didn't," Tseng spat, "That's what you told me. But when I realised… when Tifa came in with photographs of the same woman I had spoken to..."

"A likeness…"

"It wasn't a likeness!" Tseng shouted, "You knew all along that she'd try something like this!"

"Why didn't you tell us," Reno whispered, staring at Tseng, "Why didn't you…"

Tseng stared at the floor, "Because…Rufus threatened that…Elena…"

"I hear it is particularly hard for an ex-Turk to find work in this day and age," Rufus replied, grinning savagely, "Which is a problem I assure you your department will now face! This is a ridiculous accusation…"

"You knew this woman was still alive, and still you did nothing! You could have stopped this from happening!"

"I couldn't," Rufus replied, handing Tseng the sheet of paper he'd been toying with, "It had always been her intention, right from the beginning. Do you think I haven't searched for her? Do you really think I'm that naïve?"

"Why didn't you tell us…" Tseng whispered. Beside him Reno nodded frantically.

"Because she wanted you. I couldn't risk my best men coming under her control…"

"Don't make me laugh," Reno cut in darkly, "You just couldn't be arsed to…"

"Reno! That's enough!" Rufus shouted, "You don't understand this. Any of this!"

"Explain then Rufus," Cloud pointed his sword at the man in front of him, "And make it short. We're running out of time."

Rufus sighed, "She's my daughter."

"What!" Reno fell back into his chair, mouth open.

"Don't be ridiculous," Tseng snapped.

"I assure you I'm not," Rufus sighed, "She was the result of a one night stand I would rather forget. Her mother came to me, to try and extort every penny she could, and I turned her away. I made sure nobody would believe her story. She lived the rest of her life a beggar in the slums."

Tseng stared at the cold, grey eyes in front of him, unable to believe the lack of emotion in Rufus's voice.

"She knows, of course. That is why she sought me out following the destruction of Sector Seven. She actually believed I would welcome her with open arms…"

"Why didn't you?" Cloud asked angrily.

"Because she was nothing more than a slum child. Beautiful, but _nothing_ all the same," he shrugged, "She swore then that she would kill me, and I didn't doubt it. My family has always been particularly stubborn, no doubt she has inherited that from me."

The three men stared at Rufus in silence.

"I'm impressed by her success so far… Managing to capture and detain a Turk and a terrorist is no mean feat. Although I don't know why she believes I would give in to her demands."

Tseng finally unfolded the sheet of paper Rufus had handed to him, and scanned it quickly. He frowned, and threw it down on the desk.

"She's cleverer than you think," he whispered.

"Why? I would never concede to such petty demands. Meet me there or the girl dies? It is amateurish."

"The girl?" Reno exclaimed, "Tifa?"

"Not amateurish at all," Tseng replied, "You fail to realise that there are three men in this room who would do anything to be face to face with this woman. Two of them would do anything to rescue _'the girl_' in question. And none of them have any qualms with taking you with us."

"What?" Rufus exclaimed.

"You heard him," Reno grinned, "You're coming with us."


	27. Resolution

Reprisal

_Author Note: I decided to go for a new angle, from the perspective of 'Aeryn', for the first half. Hopefully it works…I'm trying to get sympathy for her, whilst keeping the scary psychopath side of her character alive._

_And on another note, one-upmanship; I'm a history A-level student, and this word was taught to me as the 'trying to outdo each other' tactics of Stalin and Truman during the Cold War. I thought it fitted Cloud and Reno's 'relationship' perfectly. _

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They stood in front of the grey building; a concrete box that seemed to sag at the corners, windows broken and staring soullessly back at them.

Four men.

One stood proud yet modest, sword fitting in his hand as though it was an extension of his body. His blue eyes, unusually bright, sparkled as he surveyed the situation, seeking every weakness, blind spot and access point available.

Two more made up the middle of the group. A man dressed in grey, armed yet at the same time defeated. Another man, black haired and quietly adamant held a silver pistol to his back. The black haired man was staring at the back of his captives head so hard it was as though he was willing him to fight back, to give him the excuse he needed to wipe the bitter smile of the man's face.

The last man stood slightly apart from the rest. Bruises shadowed his expression although he was by no means unattractive. It gave him a gritty edge, as he sauntered in the background, nightstick balanced lazily on his shoulder.

But he was a clever one. He'd taken in the building and it's surroundings without skipping a beat, and had located his trophy. There was an almost gleeful smugness in his eyes. But his face was twisted into a frown. It was dangerous.

It was aimed straight at her, and it made her breath catch in her throat.

"They haven't followed my instructions, naughty boys…" she whispered, still watching the man that was staring up at her, "But the gun in the back is a nice touch. I think we can forgive them can't we?"

She turned to the woman in the centre of the room, still bound to her chair. The dust and darkness made everything about her prisoner seem dull, except for the steely wine glint in her eye, and the shimmer of sweat on her brow.

"I think we can," the woman continued, "And they're such pretty boys."

She stared out of the window, smiling broadly, "And they're coming. This is exciting, isn't it?"

"It will be," the prisoner replied darkly, glaring across the room.

"It would be a shame for you to ruin things for me, seen as you've played the bait so well…" her voice seemed to sparkle, "So I think… yes, better take precautions… Although you'd know all about those wouldn't you? Writhing away with that dirty Turk…"

She crossed the room slowly, staring at the prisoner. She seemed to shrink as she approached, becoming less and less significant the closer to the chair she got. The cuffs glinted dully in the half-light. She was less a woman… more a girl.

_That's right, a poor, defenceless girl. Like I used to be…_

She raised her right hand in a sleepy arc, and light began to slowly grow from within her. Tifa winced instinctively.

"Not this time…" she assured her, light still pouring from her body, "This time is has to be more permanent…"

The brought her arm down leisurely, and watched the brunette's head slump forwards onto her chest as red light engulfed her. The chains groaned as her whole body fell, protesting as they struggled to keep her in her chair. But they held, as she knew they would. They were mythril.

"One can't be too careful…" she finished, smiling, before wandering out of the room.

She could feel her heart begin to thump in her chest, drumming out a rhythm of anticipation in her ears. The excitement was becoming too much, making her fingertips tingle as she wrapped them around the two daggers holstered at her waist. She'd waited so long for this moment; she'd trained so hard.

Garrison was so proud of her, and now her father would be too.

She walked slowly but purposefully down a set of concrete stairs, knowing when to avoid the mangled wires and chipped surfaces. The warehouse was run-down, but it was one of the few buildings of Sector Seven that hadn't been destroyed. It seemed fitting somehow that he would meet his end here.

Her footsteps sounded softly, and she breathed in deep and slow, willing her heart to regulate to the soft thud, thud of her feet.

She could hear voices. Raised voices. It was time…

She stood beside the door, hiding in the shadows, as she watched the same four men she'd spied upon from the upstairs window. Voices were raised and tempers were frayed… They were already divided. It made things easier, but she couldn't get ahead of herself…

"She'll kill us all!"

The voice was strong and commanding, dripping with disdain and with a hint of desperation. Her stomach fluttered. That was _him_, her father… Something wrenched inside her as she listened to him speak.

It was the voice that shattered a thousand dreams of a faceless, nameless father holding her tightly and whispering loving words in her ear.

"We can still go back! Forget her, she's dead."

"No!" the red haired man threw his hand in the air agitatedly.

Behind him the blonde man shifted his sword menacingly. She'd never seen Tifa's men together before. It was interesting. The blonde man was tall and handsome, and she found him more appealing. She thought back to their encounter… he was like a wild animal once his buttons were pushed. But the Turk, she didn't understand the attraction to him. He was loud and brash and arrogant she though, as she watched him night after night in bar after bar. She supposed it was that strange, boyish charm he seemed so able to turn on. The lopsided smile and the twinkling, smirking eyes…

She stepped back as the redhead turned around, pressing herself further into the shadows. She wondered whether she could convince the blonde man to love her… if she kept him alive. It would be easy to; she had her escape routes planned. And if he wouldn't…well… Garrison's manipulate materia would certainly come in handy again!

She mentally clapped herself on the back, grinning at the thought of the girl slumped in the chair upstairs.

"We're going up there Rufus," the dark-haired man spoke quietly, "There's no turning back now."

Now he was strange, she mused, as she watched him. He was very…professional looking. And he'd been very nice when she'd spoken to him all that time ago, trying to contact her father. Not that she'd revealed her exact identity to him.

It seemed a shame to try and hurt the pretty blonde girl.

She'd seen them walking around the park together, smiling hand in hand. The blonde girl had a lovely laugh, like champagne glasses chinking together. It didn't make sense for such a happy, pretty girl to become a Turk. But she was a Turk, so she had to be hurt. It was simple, really.

She wondered whether she and Cloud would ever be like that. Walking around a park in summer…

"Get your damn balls back, we're going!" the redhead snarled.

He always seemed to be shouting. Or swearing. She shook her head.

There were footsteps. They were heading towards her. Time to act.

She stepped out from the shadows, blocking the doorway.

"Hello daddy."

Rufus Shinra looked surprised to see her. Stupid man.

"Aeryn," he replied casually. He could have been greeting an item shop owner.

"That's not my name dad," she corrected him, smiling, "That's just a name I give to the men that use me. The name I gave to you…"

She was looking at Cloud. He stared at the floor.

"If you expect me to be angry at the thought of my daughter the whore, you've underestimated me," Rufus replied coldly.

"Oh no, I didn't expect that," she said, "I just wanted to clear it up, that's all."

"Where's Tifa!" the redhead shouted, jumping in front of Rufus with his nightstick clutched in his hand.

"You boys," she sighed, "Such one track minds you have. She's upstairs. You wont be able to help her."

"What do you mean?" Cloud demanded.

"You'll see," she replied, eyeing him lustily, "Just don't get too near when she goes off."

"What?"

"Tickety-tickety-tickety-BOOM!" she sang, smiling.

Tifa's men looked at each other frantically.

Then the black haired man spoke, "Save Tifa, we'll deal with her."

"Deal with me will you," she smiled again, but this time the expression was cold.

"Yes," Tseng replied, drawing his silver gun and aiming it at her.

He pulled the trigger, and she deflected it easily with one of the knives she had clutched in her fingers.

"Naughty, naughty," she replied.

She lunged, daggers drawn, and Tseng met her blow for blow with his gun. Bullets and sparks ricocheted around them. Rufus watched his daughter with a glimmer of sadness in his heart. She really was beautiful, like her mother. He slid his own gun smoothly from his jacket and cocked it, before throwing himself into the battle with a guttural, roaring cry.

Cloud watched, transfixed by the writhing daggers and glinting guns as they danced in the air, before Reno grabbed his arm roughly and dragged him towards the door.

"They can handle the crazy bitch," he hissed, "Tifa needs us."

It was the last thing he'd ever expected; to be dragged through a dying building by the Turk he hated the most, both intent on saving the same person. The only thing that came close was that day in Wutai, when Reno had appeared and murdered Don Corneo as they saved Yuffie and Elena. And Cloud was certain _Yuffie_ had never left the house in the middle of the night to meet Reno.

Whereas Tifa… He wanted to have faith in her, but he knew he had no right to.

"Did you sleep with her," he asked, panting as they sprinted up the stairs.

Reno didn't even turn back; his ponytail lashed out behind him, mocking Cloud; "I won't lie to you."

Silence, save their frantic footsteps. Cloud felt something inside him snap.

He wondered why Reno wasn't taunting him. It was a clear win in their contest of one-upmanship. Reno had taken the thing Cloud cared for most from within his fingertips. He'd been there for her when she needed him. And where was Cloud? Wrapped around another woman, or his own feelings of bitterness.

That's what made it worse. It was his own fault. He didn't know whether he hated Tifa for leaving him, or loved her more for having the strength not to put up with him anymore.

Ahead of him the footsteps stopped.

"Lets leave the deep and meaningful thinking 'til after we're done here, yeah?" Reno prompted, smirking.

He darted through a doorway at the top of the stairs.

Cloud followed him. He wondered whether he could kill Reno now, and pretend it was the bad guys…

"Cloud! I've found her!"

He ran flat out to the end of the corridor Reno had disappeared down, and swung himself into the room. Tifa was bound tightly to a chair in the centre; her head slumped onto her chest. He couldn't see her face; her hair obscured it. She wasn't moving at all. The air around him seemed to become liquid and icy, swallowing him whole…

"I think she's still breathing…" Reno shouted, his fingers searching for a pulse in her neck.

Cloud watched as the man gently brushed her hair away from her face as his fingers sought out her heartbeat. The icy feeling in his heart was replaced by boiling blood searing in his veins.

"I think she's just unconscious…" Reno continued, oblivious of Cloud's thoughts, "We need a phoenix down or something."

"I have one…" Cloud replied, snapping out of it and searching his pockets frantically.

"Shit…" Reno muttered, touching a mass of wires at Tifa's feet, "This looks like a bomb."

"Can you diffuse it?" Cloud demanded as he joined Reno, kneeling in front of Tifa.

"Sure," he replied confidently, and gently teased a wire with his forefinger.

He drew his hand back, head on one side, and then squinted. Cloud could see his lips twitching as he soundlessly mimed the commands that were running through his mind.

"You don't know what you're doing, do you?" Cloud shouted.

"Hey man, chill," he replied, "You can't rush it…"

Cloud rolled his eyes, phoenix down clenched in his hand.

"It's like a woman…" Reno continued, still poking around at the wires, "You can't just…dive in," he pushed a wire out of the way roughly and Cloud winced, "You have to romance her…"

"Concentrate on the bomb," Cloud prompted dryly.

"Buy her some lunch…" he tugged another wire, "Make her smile…" he pulled another one, "And before you know it," he wrapped his fingers around one and snapped it deftly, "BANG!"

Cloud jumped, and Reno smirked.

"That's how I got your girl."

Cloud squeezed the phoenix down tightly in his fingers, ignoring the lopsided grin on Reno's face.

"Well done!" someone snarled from the doorway.

They both jerked around. A man obscured their exit; a tall man, with dark hair and a yellowing scar across his cheek. Cloud glanced at Reno, who was staring at the intruder with his mouth open in silent rage. He'd recognised him.

"Surprised to see you out and about," he continued, grinning at Reno, "Lady luck must smile on you."

"Me and the good lady. We go way back," Reno replied, glaring.

"That's a pretty fine lady right there," Garrison grinned, "I think I'll be taking her, don't you eh?"

"Lay a finger on her," Reno warned quietly, "And you'll wish you'd died when your folks did."

Garrison roared, and lunged towards Reno.

"Get Tifa out of here," he cried, as he leapt up, brandishing his EMR.

There was a buzz of blue electricity as it powered up, and the two men collided. Garrison was larger than Reno, but the Turk was fast. He became a black and crimson blur as he jabbed and swung and blocked using his nightstick. Garrison bellowed as lightning engulfed him, and swung his fists at Reno, who ducked out of the way. One arm connected with him, throwing him to the floor, and he leapt up un-phased, to strike again and again and again…

Cloud watched as they fought, twisting backwards and forwards in frenzy. He tipped Tifa's head up, taking in her blank expression and shadowed eyes, and pressed the phoenix down against her heart.

A warm glow dissipated from the small package, engulfing the woman in front of him in bright, white light. Then it disappeared. Her eyes remained closed.

Whilst he waited for it to have its effect he stood up and slashed the manacles neatly with his sword. The mythril hardly resisted, falling apart easily. Tifa fell forwards and he caught her.

Her lips were moving slowly, and he leaned forwards to try and hear.

"Reno…" she mumbled.

He bit his lip, and shook her gently to bring her round. Her eyes fluttered open, and settled on his own. She smiled.

"Cloud!"

She fell forwards, arms looping around his neck, her face falling onto his shoulder. She was still weak and disoriented, and her limbs seemed to shake from the exertion.

"It's ok, I'm here," he whispered, squeezing her tightly, "Come on, we have to go."

She leaned backwards; her eyes squeezed shut, and pressed her lips against his. Cloud didn't pull away. He let her kiss him, catching the hollow aqua eyes of the Turk standing next to him as stopped fighting to stare at them. Tifa's arms were still wrapped around his neck. Garrison took Reno's moment of distraction to his advantage, and slammed his fist into the redhead's chest.

Cloud pulled her up off the chair, and her legs- unused to such exertion- buckled beneath her. Strong arms found her waist and lifter her up, dragging her over his shoulder with his arm firmly wrapped around her. She giggled incoherently as he straightened up and she slipped slightly.

There was a loud crash, and Cloud turned to see Garrison on the floor. He was still lashing out, but Reno was towering above him, his eyes cold and unemotional.

"Go, damnit!" he screamed, as he leapt onto the man in front of him, still slashing with his EMR.

Cloud watched as Reno dropped his weapon and began to punch Garrison erratically, ignoring the world around him. He considered for a moment pulling him off and dragging him out of the building with them, but thought better of it. Tifa balanced carefully on his shoulder he ran from the room.

She looked up dizzily; catching sight of Reno crouched over Garrison.

"Reno…"

He looked up and caught her confused eyes. They seemed to be filled with…hope? She was probably happy that she'd got Cloud back. He was holding her over his shoulder like a prize.

They disappeared from the room.

His fist collided with Garrison's bloody face again, and his knuckles seared angrily as they connected with bone.

He pulled back.

"That was sweet," Garrison spat through bloody lips, "And I thought she was screwing you."

"Shut up!" Reno shouted, smashing his fist into the man's face again.

"If only she could see you now," he carried on, smiling maliciously, "Gonna beat me up and leave me for dead? Bit of revenge."

"No," Reno replied, standing up.

He turned his back on the man and took a step towards the door.

"Coward," Garrison muttered as he struggled to his feet.

Reno turned around, eyes empty, and latched his hands onto Garrison's face. He jerked sharply to the left. There was a sickening cracking sound. When he let go, Garrison slumped to the floor.

"I wouldn't leave you for dead, bastard," he muttered, "I'd make sure."

He sprinted from the room, leaving Garrison's corpse to stare at him emptily.

Reno took the stairs two at a time, still seeing Tifa's arms entwined around Cloud as she'd kissed him. It hurt…a lot more than it was supposed to. And then there was that glimmer of recognition in her eyes as she'd stared at him from Cloud's arms, and the hope that seared across her face…

He threw himself down the last set of stairs. He could hear shouting from the room ahead of him.

He burst into it. Cloud and Tseng were in the background, Tseng clutching a bloody arm to his chest. Rufus and Tifa stood in the middle of the room, with a girl in front of them on her knees and staring at them all. Rufus had his gun poised, locked onto his target.

Tifa's hand was on Rufus's arm; she seemed to be pulling him back.

"Rufus no…" she whispered desperately, "There's other ways."

Reno stared at her, thinking about Garrison's body upstairs.

"Daddy can't kill me," the girl mocked them triumphantly, "Can you daddy?"

Rufus tightened his fingers on the trigger. Trembling lips and sweat that ran in beads down his forehead broke his usually calm face. To Reno, Rufus suddenly looked old and tired. It was as though every immoral thing he'd ever done was catching up with him, haunting him from the cool eyes of the girl that stared at him from the floor.

Reno sighed as he watched them. He'd found that ghost lying in the bottom of a bottle.

"Rufus…" Tifa begged.

He lowered the gun. Reno wondered why Cloud and Tseng were taking the backseat. He could see Tseng glaring at the girl, grasping his wounded arm so tightly the bloodied skin looked white in the gloom.

"Pathetic, daddy," the girl whispered pointedly.

"No…" Reno cried and leapt forwards as she grabbed one of the fallen daggers that lay on the floor beside her. Rufus was to slow to react.

She lifted the knife triumphantly, grinning at her father, and sliced it quickly across her throat. Blood pulsed freely from the wound as she slumped forwards, rapidly pooling around her fallen form. Rufus's pale trousers were spattered with gore.

He stared at her and lowered the gun, still shaking. Tifa had gone oddly white, her hand pressed to her mouth.

Rufus shakily returned the gun to its holster and exhaled slowly.

"It's over."

Tifa, still white as a sheet glanced up at Reno.

He tried to smile at her, but his lips wouldn't work. Instead they twisted into a grimace. She took a step towards him, but a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her back.

Reno watched Tifa as she stared at them both. Decision time. He closed his eyes.

"Reno…"

When he opened them both Cloud and Tifa had gone. He shrugged half-heartedly and ambled over to Tseng, side-stepping to pool of blood that was rapidly spreading from the body in the middle of the room. Rufus stood amidst it all, staring blankly.

Tseng, still gripping his arm, nodded at Reno.

"Let's go."

_Author Note: One more chapter to go! Exciting._


	28. Her Decision

Reprisal

_Author Note: Before I begin with the final chapter, I'd like to thank all the people who have reviewed and added my story to their favourites. There's absolutely no way I'd have ever found the drive to finish it without your input and encouragement. I really enjoyed writing this story, and enjoyed even more finding the positive reviews in my inbox. I hope that you enjoyed reading it._

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The club was dark, the music was loud, and the longest week of his life was over.

The four of them sat in a booth in the corner sipping drinks and sharing the usual post-work niceties. There was something horribly awkward in the air, and Reno got the distinct feeling it was due to him being there. But he had no choice, they'd been adamant.

Tseng had told him there was nothing to be found at the bottom of a bottle. Personally he begged to differ, but the firm grip of his boss's hand on his arm as he was pulled towards the car settled the matter.

Tseng's arm, fully healed, now lay across the back of the bench, his fingers occasionally twitching Elena's hair. She merely blushed whenever he did, and fidgeted with the luridly coloured umbrella that protruded from her drink. Reno smirked inwardly. He'd never seen a couple so desperate to act as though they weren't a couple.

It didn't matter how many times he stressed that he wasn't bothered, they still acted as though any contact between them was paramount to twisting the knife a little further. It infuriated him.

Rude, of course, was his usual helpful self. One more 'there's plenty more chocobos in the forest' remark and he'd find himself face to face with a fully charged EMR.

He took a large gulp of his drink, noting half-heartedly how bitter it tasted, and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. Elena shook her head and took a dainty sip of her own.

"So…" he said, trying to lighten the mood, "Where to after this?"

Tseng shrugged, and idly flicked Elena's hair again, "No idea."

"Great," Reno replied sarcastically.

Silence formed.

"It's a shame Rufus wouldn't come," Elena mused as she sipped at her drink again.

"Yeah well…" Reno petered out.

Silence formed again. He'd never felt so awkward in his life.

Elena too looked unsettled by the situation, and responded by clutching her glass in her hand and taking a large gulp. She shuddered as she swallowed, and slammed the glass back down on the table.

"Wow Laney, slow down," Reno warned, smirking.

Her cheeks flushed crimson, and the three men laughed. Some of the awkwardness seemed to filter out of the air. Elena shook her head, and laughed too.

They'd only been there half an hour and her eyes were already shimmering from the alcohol. Reno hid a grin behind his glass as she watched his gleeful expression and scowled. He snatched the glass from her fingers and took a sip.

"Damn…" he moaned, pulling a face, "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know," she replied, smiling brightly, "But it tastes nice."

"Yeah," Reno agreed, "If you've got a taste for toilet cleaner."

Elena stuck her tongue out at him, and Tseng stroked her hair affectionately.

Rude laughed and pushed his sunglasses up his nose. They were still firmly fixed to his face, despite the fact they were inside _and_ sitting in the dark. Reno's own goggles were perched on his head, seated on the faint remnants of the bruises that had faded away to almost nothing.

The only thing he was left with was a nominal scar on his chin, and another round scar on his shoulder from the bullet wound. And, of course his pride was severely dented. He supposed he was lucky…

He was still reminiscing on the beaten state of his ego when Tseng's empty glass clunked onto the table. Rude's followed suit. The two men stared expectantly at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"Your round," Tseng stated simply.

"Hey!" he held his hands up, "You're supposed to be pitying me here."

"We are," Rude nodded gravely, lips twitching, "Chance to meet new people…"

"To get out and about again," Tseng added.

"There's plenty more…"

"Chocobos in the forest," Reno finished irritably, "Alright! Alright, I'll go."

"Good man," Tseng grinned, "Same again."

Rude nodded. Reno stood up slowly, stretching, and turned to Elena with his eyebrow raised.

"Erm…" she looked at her half full glass, "I'm ok for now."

"Same again for Laney then," he smirked, and wandered off.

They watched him saunter off to the bar area, the only place in the club that was brightly lit. A tall blonde woman eyed him up as he arrived, and he ignored the bartender's expectant face to talk to her.

"This could take a while," Rude pointed out wryly, as Reno leaned back on the bar and rubbed his fingers through his hair.

"Come on guys, it's good!" Elena replied, smiling, "Look at him."

They watched. Reno certainly looked himself again. He was grinning lopsidedly, and idly tapping his foot. The blonde woman was laughing, simpering away at his boyish smile. He ruffled his hair again, and she bit her lip and stared at the floor, before fixing him with a sickening pout.

Elena clicked her tongue in disdain, "_Please_…"

"A man could die of thirst around here," said Tseng, eyeing his empty glass.

Reno leaned towards the blonde woman, still smirking, and she threw her shoulders back in a blatant effort to give him a view of her cleavage when he moved in. He glanced down and grinned broadly, before whispering in her ear.

"Do you want me to go and get the drinks?" Elena suggested.

Rude shook his head, still staring at the bar. The corners of his lips twitched again.

The woman straightened up brusquely, glaring at Reno. He was smirking again, although the boyish charm had gone. If anything he was leering, eyebrow raised. She shook her head and stalked away from the bar. Reno called something after her, and she rolled her eyes.

"What did he say?" Elena asked, aghast.

"I dread to think," Tseng replied, watching Reno laughing away to himself.

He turned back to the bar and ordered the drinks.

The blonde woman reached her table and sat down, talking animatedly with her friends. They were all glaring over at Reno now, and shaking their heads. She looked incredibly angry.

"Oh Reno," Elena murmured, as she stared at the woman's hurt face.

"Back to normal," Rude pointed out, swirling the dregs of his drink around his glass.

Elena nodded, and straightened up.

"Hey…isn't that…"

A dark haired woman had spotted them from across the room, and was staring at them thoughtfully. Tseng and Rude straightened up in their seats, and scowled across the dance floor. The woman, her now crimson cheeks standing out starkly against her simple white summer dress began to walk towards them. She was teetering precariously on strappy heels; although Elena suspected it was her reluctance to approach them that made her walk seem so unnatural.

She stopped in front of their table, nervously fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"Hello…" she said quietly, eyes fixed on Elena.

Deciding the other two were just going to sit and glare, she smiled brightly at the woman in front of her, "Hi Tifa."

Tseng nodded curtly, and Rude ignored her.

She bit her lip, "How are you all?"

"We're good," Elena replied for everyone, "And you?"

"I'm good," she nodded enthusiastically.

An awkward silence formed.

"So…" Elena prompted.

"I was wondering whether…well… I was looking for Reno, actually."

"You were?"

"Why?" Rude grunted, still glaring.

Elena kicked him under the table, and he scowled at her instead.

"I haven't seen him for a while…"

"Wonder why," Tseng muttered.

Elena jabbed him too, and smiled at Tifa encouragingly, "He's over there, at the bar."

She pointed at Reno. He had his back to them, leaning on the counter idly whilst he waited for the drinks order.

Tifa smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

"No problem," Elena replied.

She glanced at Tseng and Rude, then span delicately on her heels and ambled towards the bar. Elena had to call it ambling. It was a nonchalant, aimless walk that screamed apprehension.

"What's she doing here!" Rude demanded angrily, rubbing his leg under the table where Elena had kicked him.

"She wants to talk to Reno!" Elena squeaked excitedly. She moved over a little in her seat so she could get a better view.

"That doesn't mean…"

"She's all dressed up and everything. It's so sweet!"

Tseng and Rude stared at her as if she was crazy, and she shook her head impatiently.

"Those shoes must be killing her! Why else would she get dressed up?"

"I suppose," Tseng replied slowly, staring at the bar.

Tifa tapped Reno on the arm to get his attention, and he wheeled around. Judging by the arrogant smirk on his face he'd been expecting the blonde woman. She smiled nervously, and the smirk faded from his face; replaced momentarily by a look of surprise that was quickly replaced with a cold sneer.

He nodded curtly in welcome, and rested his elbows on the bar, staring out at the Turks across the room. Elena flashed him a thumbs up, and he frowned at her.

Tifa began to speak, fiddling nervously with her hair, the flush creeping back over her pale cheeks. Reno refused to look at her, flexing his fingers idly and inspecting his nails.

"Can you lip read?" Elena hissed, straining her neck to get a better view.

"No."

Tseng shook his head.

Tifa was smiling again. Her face seemed to have lit up, as though all of the lights on the bar were directed at her. Reno stared at the floor; still adamant he wasn't going to look at her. She said something and he shrugged.

"Doesn't look good," Rude pointed out.

"She's trying so hard," Elena complained, "And he won't even look at her!"

"He doesn't have to," said Tseng.

Elena jabbed him in the ribs, and turned back to the bar.

The nervous smile seemed to be fading from Tifa's face. She spoke again, urgently, beginning to look desperate. Reno shrugged again. They all watched her chest rise and fall as she sighed.

"No…" Elena murmured, digging her fingers into Tseng's thigh to push herself up and improve her view. He grimaced.

Tifa smiled sadly and bit her lip. She brushed the strands of red hair away from his face, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the cheek. Reno froze, still staring at the floor.

She sighed again, and walked away.

"What is he doing!" Elena shouted, ignoring Tseng's cry of pain as her nails dug harder into his thigh.

Reno frowned, as though he was thinking the same thing.

He shook his head and darted forwards, grabbing her wrist before she could fade into the swirling crowds on the dance floor. She stopped and turned around.

"Yes!" Elena yelled.

He kissed her hard, lanky arms winding tightly around her waist. She didn't even have chance to look surprised, she just seemed to freeze momentarily, and then she melted into his arms. Oblivious to the eager Turks watching them across the crowded room she kissed him back eagerly, one hand clinging to his shirt whilst the other stroked his cheek. As they slowed Elena was certain she saw Tifa smiling.

"Aww…" she grinned, sitting down properly, "How sweet."

Tseng rubbed his leg vigorously, trying to regain some feeling.

Scrutinising the scene, Rude grimaced, "Forget to eat before he came out?"

Tifa pulled away, her eyes sparkling under the lights as her lips broke into a bright smile. Reno grinned back helplessly, and wound his fingers through her hair. The room suddenly felt like a furnace, making him melt from the inside out.

"Hey," he whispered, smirking like a man possessed.

"Hey," she breathed back, and kissed him again.


End file.
